The Pagemaster II - A New Chapter
by MagicMovieNerd
Summary: The Pagemaster's kingdom of books, Libralia, is under a curse by his evil cousin, Malaria, and only his granddaughter, Bethylasia, can stop it. When a girl named Becca ends up in Libralia, she and the talking books (who've been turned into animals) travel to find Becca's lost identity and help break the curse, but Malaria has other ideas in store...
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Once upon a time, there was a library. It was no ordinary library – it had a magical secret. Anyone who fell asleep or was knocked unconscious within the library's walls would be whisked away into the magical land of Libralia – a wondrous realm of the world's greatest works of literature in which all the greatest characters within those stories came to life. The world was divided into five sections: the Isle of Adventure, the Dimension of Science Fiction, the World of Fantasy, the Crypts of Horror, and the Paths of Mystery.

All those worlds were ruled by an elderly and wise wizard known as the Pagemaster, and his five talking books who served as his loyal servants and advisors; their names were Adventure, Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction, and Mystery. Adventure was a light brown book that resembled a pirate: he had a hook on his right hand and a peg on his left leg; he also had a brown mustache, a yellow and orange polka-dotted bandana, a fake black eyepatch, a brown belt with a sword, and a black colonial shoe over a red and white striped sock. Fantasy was a lavender book that resembled a fairy godmother; she had tiny wings, hot pink hair with a gold crown on top and wore a pink skirt, reading glasses, white stockings, and glass slippers, and she also carried a magic wand. Horror was a blue book with a misshapen spine, and resembled a hunchback; he had heterochromia – his left eye was purple and his right eye was yellow – a curly, dark blue binding on top of his head, and wore torn brown sleeves over his long arms, a tattered green collar, and brown cloth shoes. Science Fiction, nicknamed "Sci Fi", was a yellow book who was a scientist, alien exterminator and medical doctor; she had black hair, brown eyes, and wore big, round glasses and a _Men in Black_ -styled outfit – a white blouse, a black jacket, tie, shorts, and high-heel boots. Mystery was a jade green book who worked as a detective; he had mahogany colored hair and green eyes, and he always wore a green jacket over a white dress shirt, red tie, brown vest, sand colored slacks and black shoes with white spats. All of the books were wise and loyal guardians of their respective sections.

Long ago, the Pagemaster was chosen to rule Libralia by his uncle, because the young wizard was wise, caring, and loyal. His cousin Malaria, however, was self-centered and more interested in dark magic. When the time came for the one to be chosen to rule the library, Malaria's father chose her cousin instead of her. Malaria was enraged; she left Libralia and went far away to the restricted section, where no soul ever dared to venture.  
As the years passed, the Pagemaster ruled the land fairly and wisely, and eventually married and started a family. The Pagemaster and Pagemistress were blessed with a son named Matthias. The young Matthias learned from his father and the talking books about all the greatest works of literature, the characters, and the dos and don'ts of ruling a kingdom for when the time came for his reign. Eventually, Matthias grew up, and when he was in his mid-twenties, he met a young woman named Natalia. The Pagemaster and Pagemistress took a strong liking to Natalia's beauty and gentle nature; eventually Natalia and Matthias married and had four children: Alexander, Donovan, Mirabelle, and Bethylasia.

The youngest of the Pagemaster's grandchildren, Bethylasia, was the most unusual but also most special of all. For instance, she was the only one of her siblings who wore glasses like her mother and grandmother, had an unusual name, and wore darker clothing than the rest of her family. But the young girl was very gifted in reading books and understanding certain subjects. When she was seven years old, Bethylasia was given a special present for her birthday from her grandparents. It was a necklace that had a charm shaped like an open book.  
"It's beautiful!" cried the young princess.  
"We're glad you love it," said the Pagemistress, "Your grandfather and I have another surprise for you." She motioned to her husband to get something. When the Pagemaster came back, he had a large book with a blue leather covering, a silver buckle locking the turn-ins together. On the front cover were the words "The Pagemaster" written in old medieval text. "Is it your diary, Grandfather?" asked Donovan.  
"No," said the Pagemaster, "I am giving Bethylasia the key to all my stories inside my special book of events within Libralia."

Everyone gasped in awe as little Bethylasia tried to open the book with all her might. "Whoa, whoa!" said her father, "That's not the way to treat a special book. Here, let me show you." He took Bethylasia's new necklace and placed the charm into the silver keyhole. Then he turned it to the left, and the book's lock unlocked! The Pagemaster then opened the book himself. "Look!" he told everyone. The Pagemaster and Pagemistress took turns turning pages.  
"See here," said the Pagemistress, "Right now, Bethylasia is having her birthday." A picture in the book showed the royal family of Libralia at Bethylasia's current birthday party. "That's me!" cried the ecstatic little birthday girl.  
"Yes," said her mother, "What else is there, Pagemaster?"

Suddenly, the Pagemaster and Pagemistress got worried looks on their faces. "This can't be good," whispered the Pagemaster.  
"What?" cried Mirabelle, "What can't be good, Grandfather?"  
"Well, it seems to me that my evil cousin Malaria will be coming soon and she'll want revenge on me!" cried the Pagemaster, immediately closing the book.  
"Who's Malaria?" asked Alexander. The Pagemaster then told everyone the story about how he was chosen to rule the land of books while Malaria wasn't. The wizard then added, "I feel it in me that Malaria wants revenge on me and my family. She will return tomorrow morning and attack my kingdom, destroying literature and happiness; if that happens, no one will want to read books or come to the Real World's library anymore!"  
"What's the 'Real World'?" asked Bethylasia.  
"The Real World," explained the Pagemaster, "Is a world far beyond our world in which we live – Libralia, for instance, is really a library that folks in the Real World come and go in to check out books for a while. That's why some books are gone for a period of time before they come back to us. Sometimes if people in that world fall asleep or are knocked unconscious, they will dream about coming to Libralia and journey through our land of stories."  
"So we're all just dreams?" asked Natalia, who was getting a little worried for the sake of her children. "Not exactly," said the Pagemistress, "We're fantastic beings brought to life by the minds of certain people with great ideas and large imaginations. But back on topic – if Malaria is coming tomorrow morning, we must plan an escape. Matthias, you and your family will sleep in your palace's main parlor tonight, and wake up at the slightest whim. That way, you'll be able to make it out quickly before Malaria comes!"  
"Yes, Mother," said Matthias.

Later that night, the Pagemaster, Pagemistress, and their royal family all went to sleep in their palace's main parlor, keeping their ears open for any unusual sound that could mean trouble. Sure enough, at about four o'clock in the morning, a strong wind blew the main doors open! Everyone woke up in alarm! "It's Malaria!" cried the Pagemaster.  
"Dearest," the Pagemistress told her husband, "Take Matthias and the others! I'll stay behind and ward off Malaria's magic!'  
"Are you sure you can do this?" the Pagemaster asked his wife.  
"Trust me!"

The Pagemaster led the royal family out through a hallway while the Pagemistress stayed behind to guard the palace. Just then, a woman with pale skin, white hair and purple eyes entered; it was Malaria, and she was dressed in a black and purple gown with one sleeve and a black tiara with a purple stone. Circling around her were some small dark spirits that moaned and laughed. "Well, Pagemistress," said Malaria with calmness in her voice, "We meet again. I'm surprised that husband and family of yours aren't around."  
"They didn't want any confrontation with you, Malaria," replied the Pagemistress, who was getting irritated, "We will not let you destroy literature!"  
"Then I'll destroy YOU to start!" shouted Malaria, and she shot her hand out at the Pagemistress, concocting a purple bolt that struck the old woman in her chest, stopping her heart. The Pagemistress fell dead to the floor!  
"MOTHER!" screamed Matthias, who heard the whole thing. The prince came running, with his wife and children following. The Pagemaster only managed to hold Bethylasia back. "Grandfather, let go!" cried the youngest child.  
"No, Bethylasia!" said the Pagemaster, "I won't risk having ALL my grandchildren sacrificed!"

The rest of the family came back to the parlor and found the lifeless Pagemistress lying on the floor. "How sweet!" said Malaria, "The children and grandchildren have gathered around to mourn the departed. Now I will make sure none of you move while I finish my work!" Malaria waved her hand in the air, and made some black and purple smoky dust; then she shot the dust at the royal family, which turned them all into stone!

Bethylasia and the Pagemaster, who were hiding behind a curtain, saw the whole thing. "Mama and Papa," whispered Bethylasia sadly, as a tear fell down her cheek, "My brothers and sister."  
"No time to mourn, darling!" whispered the Pagemaster, "We must keep going. My book servants are waiting in another part of Libralia to help us!"

For seven days and nights, the Pagemaster and Bethylasia travelled from the palace across rugged terrain and snowy mountains until they came to a secret cave in the fantasy section. "Grandfather, why are we here?" asked Bethylasia. The Pagemaster just took the little girl in his arms and gave a big hug; a tear came down his cheek. "Bethylasia, I am sending you away to the Real World. There you will grow up and live another identity until the time is right."  
"For what? What about my family?"  
"Not to worry, dearest," said the Pagemaster, "You'll learn in time."

Suddenly, the young girl began to float off the ground. She was then whisked away into a magic typhoon, which carried her far and wide into a realistic world, where she went from an "illustrated" person to a real human being. She fell from the ceiling of a library's rotunda, where she entered the body of Becca Ridges, a girl who looked _exactly_ like her, and was sleeping on a chair. A few seconds later, she woke up. A librarian named Mr. Dewey ran to her side and helped her up. "Are you okay, sweetheart?" he asked, "You can't fall asleep here, you know. Where are your parents?"  
"I don't know," answered the girl, "I had a dream where I was a cartoon, and my parents were turned into stone, and a wizard turned me back into a real person…"  
"Becca!" said a woman. It was the girl's mother, Tasha. "I'm sorry," Tasha told Mr. Dewey, "My daughter didn't get a good sleep last night. She's really into books and stays up long hours to read 'one more chapter'."  
"I understand," said Mr. Dewey, "I see she has quite an imagination with her explanation of her so-called dream!"

Tasha took Becca's hand and the two of them left the library. "Honey," said Tasha, "I want you to stop staying up all night to read books. You are seven years old and you need your sleep!"  
"Sorry, Mom," said Becca, "But I just had this really cool dream where I was a cartoon, and you and dad were put under some kind of magic spell, and there was this wizard who told me to go home and come back when the time was right!"  
"Oh, sweetie, it's just a dream," comforted Tasha as she got her daughter into her car to go home, "There's nothing to be afraid of." But young Becca twirled around with her necklace, which had a charm looking like an open book…


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 - A Flashback and Fear**

 ** _Ten Years Later_**

 _Boom! Crash!_ Seventeen-year-old Becca woke up. Outside her bedroom window, a thunderstorm was occurring. The auburn-haired girl with copper eyes was dreaming when she woke up. In Becca's dream, she was sleeping in a meadow chock-full of white daisies and yellow dandelions. She wore her pair of glasses, a purple long-sleeved t-shirt, blue jeans, and brown hiking boots. Then all of sudden, a mysterious figure tapped her on the shoulder. "Come on," it whispered, "Are you ready?"  
"Huh?" Becca asked in her dream.  
"You know, the hike!" said the figure, who was her best friend Nicole. She was a girl with short blonde hair and blue eyes. She wore a blue short-sleeved shirt, a brown skirt that cut off at her knees, and gray shoes.  
"Oh yeah!" said Becca, "Let's go, girlfriend!" So Becca and Nicole hiked down a familiar path into the forest. The two talked about school, their favorite activities, and their plans for college. Unknown to them, a hungry grizzly bear was watching its freshly killed deer – which was not far away from where Becca and Nicole were hiking! The Bear snuck up behind them, breathing very heavily. "Do you hear that?" Becca asked Nicole when she heard the breathing. Nicole turned around, and there – about five feet away – was the bear standing on two legs, growling and huffing!

The girls immediately stood broadly and said sternly, "Go away, Bear! Don't follow us! Go away!" The bear didn't budge. Instead, it got back down on all fours and charged at the girls! Becca immediately dropped face-down to the ground, playing dead… and woke up from her dream.  
"Another flashback," Becca whispered to herself, and began crying silently. The dream reflected back to her, how the last summer, she lost her best and only friend to a grizzly bear attack. Nicole was the one who always listened to Becca's stories about her daydreaming in the local library, and always comforted her when she needed help. The two of them always did the same things together since they were twelve years old – swimming at the YMCA, reading their favorite books, and hiking in the great outdoors. "You two are like peas in a pod!" Becca's father would always say. But one day, everything changed; the girls decided to go hiking in the local state park with Nicole's family. So far, everything went smooth, but then came the attack; the bear swiped Nicole in the face with its front paw, bit her on the arm, and swiped her repeatedly until she couldn't move anymore. Becca survived with only a few scratches, because she was playing dead. When the bear went away, Becca ran to Nicole's parents, and called for paramedics. By the time Becca's friend reached the hospital, it was too late. Nicole had lost so much blood and had devastating bites and scratches all over her body that she died before reaching the emergency room. To that day, Becca was terrified of animals, especially large ones with sharp teeth and claws.

Becca stopped her tears, put on her glasses, and tiptoed to the bathroom to get a glass of water. But while she was in the hallway, she heard her parents talking in a bedroom. "Tasha," said her father, Mark, "every teenager is afraid of something."  
"Becca's afraid of cracking an egg open!" replied Tasha.  
"Getting deadly proteins from the egg yolk into her bloodstream," corrected Mark, "She says it's the same as getting bitten by a black mamba."  
"Whatever."  
"Tasha, ever since her best friend was killed, the animal kingdom has been a frightening place for her. I think you should be a little more supportive."  
"Supportive? I'm about the most supportive mother in the world, and I'm running out of supportive things to do! I tried helping her volunteer at animal shelter, she drove the employees crazy about news stories focused on pit bulls attacking people! Did you know that when a pregnant woman cleans a cat's litter box, she may become sick with toxoplasmosis? Mark, she brought a first aid kit. Nobody wanted her volunteering after that! Now our neighbor and I are thinking about having Becca babysit a dog she refuses to even pet!"  
"You know that she's still traumatized about the bear attack," said Mark in a comforting tone.  
"I know," said Tasha, calming down, "But she can't just let it haunt her for the rest of her life."

Back in the hallway, Becca was still listening to her parents' conversation when their bedroom light turned off. "Okay, I'm fine!" Becca told herself. Just then, lightning flashed, with the light revealing a picture of a ferocious tiger in the hallway! Becca gasped and ran back into her room! "No, I'm not!" she said. The girl went back into her bed and pulled the covers over her face. She thought about what her mother said about letting Nicole's death haunt her forever. _Mom's right,_ Becca thought, _I need to move on._ She took her glasses off, put them on her bedside table, and went back to sleep.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: That Feeling of Loss**

The next day, Becca was preparing for a special day at school. Today was the day she and her homeroom class would take a field trip to the local library to learn about ways on helping the community by promoting reading. Becca put on a white long-sleeved turtleneck shirt, a black skirt that cut off at her knees, a pair of black socks up to her knees, and a pair of black Ariat clogs. She also put on her favorite necklace, which had an open book for a charm.

When she came downstairs, her parents looked at her in awe. "You look rather spiffed up today," said Tasha.  
"It's nothing special," replied Becca, "I'm just going on a field trip with my homeroom class."  
"Well if you're just going to a library, I don't understand why you're dressing for a special event," said Mark.  
"I don't know," said Becca, "I just thought it would be nice to dress up."  
"Well that's fine with me."

While Becca ate her breakfast consisting of a naval orange, a bowl of Trix cereal, and some iced water, she set about packing her lunch: a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with Goldfish crackers, an apple, and two Oreos. Mark checked his wristwatch and said, "Well, I think I'd better get going to work."  
"Okay, honey," said Tasha, "We'll see you this evening. Don't forget – tonight's dinner is going to be your favorite – tuna casserole!"  
"Mmmmmm!" said Mark, giving Tasha a kiss on the cheek before leaving.  
"Great," mumbled Becca under her breath, "Another crappy dinner that I hate."  
"Becca!" said Tasha, "I heard that! Besides, you can make a tuna sandwich out of the tuna I have left." The mother's annoyed look then became a softened face of sympathy. Becca paced back and forth at the front door. "Honey, I'm sorry," said Tasha, "But you know I don't want Nicole's death haunting you the rest of your life. You have to move on. I also want you to do better in school."  
"I'm trying," Becca said with little enthusiasm. Ever since Nicole's death, Becca's school grades had been going down; she went from straight A's to C's and D's. The reason was because she started thinking that she didn't belong to Tasha and Mark anymore; Becca became lost in a world full of darkness and demons that represented grief, fear, and being bullied by other kids in school. "Becca, your math teacher says you've been drawing pictures of snakes with wings on your homework papers," said Tasha, "And your language arts teacher said to me that some kids call you a crybaby or a coward – and you are none of those things – is something going on that I need to know? Don't be afraid to speak up."  
"Okay," said Becca, "So I can't get over Nicole's death, and I don't want anybody around me, that's all." Just then, Becca looked at the clock above the kitchen stove. "Oh my God!" she said, "I gotta get going! School starts in twenty minutes!" Quickly, Becca grabbed her paper bag of lunch and put it into her backpack.  
"Have a good day, sweetie," said Tasha, giving her daughter a kiss, "And have a nice time at the library!"  
"I will!" Becca called as she put on her coat, grabbed her backpack, and went out the door. When she got outside to the brisk autumn-touched street, Becca sang a song:

 _The Earth is cold,the fields are bare,_  
 _The branches fold against the wind that's everywhere_

A flock of birds then flew by, while Becca noticed a kindergarten-aged boy holding his mother's hand and carrying a teddy bear.

 _The birds move on, so they survive,_  
 _When snow's so deep,_  
 _The bears all sleep,_  
 _To keep themselves alive._

 _They do what they must for now, and trust in their plan._  
 _If I trust in mine somehow, I might find who I am!_  
 _But where do I go from here?_  
 _So many voices ringing in my ear,_  
 _Which is the voice that I was meant to hear?_  
 _How will I know?_  
 _Where do I go from here?_

Becca ran to the end of her street, and turned left. Her school was soon in sight.

 _My world has changed, and so have I,_  
 _I've learned to choose and even learned to say goodbye._

 _The path ahead, so hard to see,_  
 _It winds and bends,_  
 _But where it ends_  
 _Depends on only me._

 _In my heart I don't feel part of so much I've known,_  
 _Now it seems it's time to start a new life on my own!_  
 _But where do I go from here?_  
 _So many voices ringing in my ear,_  
 _Which is the voice that I was meant to hear?_  
 _How will I know?_  
 _Where do I go from here?_

Then she entered the main building just as the first bell rang at exactly eight-thirty. Little did she know that on this day, her life would change forever…

Author's Note: The song "Where do I Go From Here?" (c) Disney


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 - The Field Trip**

Immediately, Becca went to her locker and unlocked it. While the girl was digging out her math textbook and language arts folder, a boy with black hair and fair skin across the hall said, "Look everyone! It's that funeral-obsessed freak!" Becca pretended not to hear the other kids jeer her for her zoophobia, the way she dressed, and the way she hung her head low.  
"Hey, Ridges! Whose funeral are you going to today?"  
"If you keep being hunched over like that, you'll turn into a hunchback!"  
"You're scared of another teddy bear, aren't you?"  
All the kids laughed as Becca just headed to her homeroom class in order to be present for the field trip. Getting to class was no easier, either, because other kids held their mouths to prevent laughing. "Enough, class!" said the teacher, Mrs. Clarke, "Just because Becca stands out, that doesn't mean you have to make a big joke out of it!" Becca sighed in relief that she had a least one person to stand up for her at school.  
After taking attendance, Mrs. Clarke said, "Now class, the bus will be here any minute, so I must ask each and every one of you to line up slowly and calmly in an orderly fashion." Becca was the last one to get in line. Soon everyone went out to the bus, which took them on a twenty-minute drive to the public library. The exterior of the building looked almost like a grand museum that one would find in London or New York City. Statues of lions stood on both sides of a grand-looking staircase, and stone pillars guarded the doorway like two stoic Roman soldiers. Becca was very impressed as she followed her classmates into the library.

Over twenty years ago, this library was about to go out of business. But one day, a little boy named Richard Tyler visited; he didn't really intend to go, but he wanted to escape a raging thunderstorm. No one to that day knew what happened to Richard inside the library, but he came out with three checked out books and new courage. Since that day, people all around town began to learn about Richard's experience at the library, and decided to visit it again and again. With people's regular visits and checking books out, Mr. Dewey, the owner, was so impressed that he added a few new employees in recent years. Now, the library was getting ready to hire young, aspiring people to help the hotspot for reading.

When Mrs. Clarke's class entered the library, they were greeted by an old man with a plain, gray outfit. "Welcome to the library, everyone!" he said, "Now, are you the class from Howard High School?"  
"Yes, sir," said Mrs. Clarke, as she introduced herself to Mr. Dewey.  
"Now, then," said Mr. Dewey, "As your teacher told me, you are all in here to learn about different types of jobs in the library, correct?" Everyone nodded their heads. While Mr. Dewey talked about the library's code of conduct, Becca heard a high-pitched sound close by. She turned her head, and saw something moving beside some books on a cart. The girl came closer and suddenly, a white creature with brown markings looked up at her. Becca gasped, and saw that the creature was a little kitten. "Hey," she whispered to the blue-eyed animal, "You're not scary at all. You're kind of cute. I don't think they allow pets in the library, so I'd better hide you." Becca opened her backpack, gently picked up the kitten, and put it inside before zipping it not completely shut in order to give the animal some fresh air to breathe.

"Becca!" whispered Mrs. Clarke, "Pay attention, please!"  
"Oh, sorry, mam," said Becca, returning to her place in the group.  
"You were talking to someone, I think," said Mrs. Clarke. Becca just made a face that said, "No, I wasn't." After about five minutes of talking, Mr. Dewey led the kids to the center of the library, where a large rotunda was at the top of the ceiling. Becca looked up and saw beautiful paintings of what looked like a royal family. There was a man and a woman with four children – two boys and two girls. The younger girl looked exactly like Becca with the same auburn hair and copper eyes; she was even wearing glasses and a necklace with a book charm! Another painting had an evil sorceress with light blonde hair, purple eyes, and a purple and black gown; she was surrounded by black, smiling ghosts and purple smoke. A third painting showed a large grizzly bear, standing on its hind legs mouth open, and angry yellow eyes; Becca thought about the bear that killed Nicole. The fourth painting had a detective, a scientist, a hunchback, a pirate, and a fairy godmother standing together with different animals underneath them – a beaver, a squirrel, a woodchuck, a large weasel, and a small weasel. The final painting had a wizard dressed in sky blue and purple robe, carrying a golden staff.

Just then, Becca rubbed her hands together, and raised her hand. "Excuse me," she said, "May I go wash my hands? I promise I'll be right back."  
"Very well," said Mr. Dewey, "But don't be too long. Your teacher and classmates will be getting ready to research different sections in ten minutes!"  
"Okay," said Becca. She then followed the signs to the ladies' restroom, taking off her backpack in the process. When she got to the bathroom, Becca opened her backpack and gently picked the kitten up out from her backpack. She looked at the animal's rear, and saw that it was female.

"So you're a girl, huh?" Becca said to the kitten, "I think I'll name you Sheila. That's a nice name." She put Sheila into her backpack and washed her hands, leaving the backpack on the counter by one of the sinks. As Becca was drying her hands with a paper towel, she slipped on a patch of water, and fell to the floor, hitting her head against the wall. The girl lost consciousness and suddenly, everything seemed to spin around…


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 - Arriving in Libralia**

Becca then got up and grabbed her backpack with Sheila inside. When she got out of the restroom, however, all was quiet. Her class and Mr. Dewey were gone. "HELLO!" Becca called. The only answer she got was her echo. Just then, other sounds came about – swords clashing, horses running, wolves howling, the wind blowing, and a thunder crash. "Uh-oh," the girl told herself. Suddenly, something dropped onto her hand. It was a drop of purple paint. Becca thought of nothing and just wiped the drop on her backpack. Then, some blue and red drops of paint fell. Then, there came green and white, then purple and yellow. Becca looked up at the rotunda and could not believe her eyes. The paintings were melting, and paint was coming down. Just then, the paint began to pour onto the floor. Becca's backpack turned purple; the girl gasped and threw it down, taking Sheila into her arms!

Becca ran away from the messy paint screaming! But then, the paint came together and morphed into the shape of a bear; it roared and chased after the girl and her kitten! Becca kept screaming as she ran around bookshelves, with the magic paint following her! "Mrs. Clarke! Where are you?!" the poor girl cried, but no answer came. Finally, the exhausted Becca came back to the center of the library, where the paint splashed all over her and Sheila!

Becca looked down at her hands. Something about them didn't seem right. Then she realized that she had transformed into a cartoon, almost like she had seen in Disney movies. "I'm, I'm animated!" she exclaimed.  
"You mean 'illustrated,'" said a voice. Becca turned around and saw an old man dressed in a blue, red, and purple robe; he also carried a golden staff with a page wrapped around it.  
"Who are you?" asked Becca.  
"I am the Pagemaster," answered the old man, "Keeper of the books, guardian of the Written World, and ruler of Libralia!"  
"What's Libralia?" asked Becca. She thought she heard the term somewhere, but couldn't figure out where.  
"It's where you are right now! Why, we have been waiting for you for a long time. Ten years, to be exact!"  
"I think you must be mistaken. My name is Becca Ridges, and right now I really wanna get out of here!"  
"You can't leave yet," said the Pagemaster, "Your mission has just begun! Let me explain something to you. Long ago, my cousin, Malaria, and I were waiting to see who was going to rule Libralia. When her father and my uncle made his decision, he chose me instead of his daughter. Malaria was outraged; she went far away to the restricted section, despising literature and happiness since then. For a while, all was well with my new family. But one day, Malaria returned to Libralia to seek revenge on me. My wife, the Pagemistress, sacrificed herself to save me, our son, and his family. However, my youngest granddaughter, Bethylasia, and I escaped the siege while her parents and siblings were turned into stone by Malaria. After travelling for seven days and nights, I sent Bethylasia into the real world until it was time for her to return. Recently, I've had a vision that my granddaughter has returned."  
"That's great!" said Becca, "But what does this have to do with me?"  
"Bethylasia hasn't appeared yet," said the Pagemaster, "But until she comes, you must help me restore Libralia to become the happy, peaceful, and literature-loving kingdom it once was. You see, I've heard word that Malaria has found out that Bethylasia is back in this world, too. So now, she has returned with her phantom minions to terrorize my kingdom. A few days ago, I sent my talking book servants to help defeat Malaria, but my cousin has transformed them into animals!"  
"Talking books?" Becca wondered feeling puzzled.  
"You'll see," said the Pagemaster. At that moment, a moving cart came by. The Pagemaster put Becca onto the cart and said, "Let your quest begin! Remember to pass five tests in the worlds of Mystery, Science Fiction, Horror, Adventure, and Fantasy! And when in doubt, look to the books!" The wizard disappeared and the cart carrying Becca kept rolling along through the hallway! At last, the cart crashed into a wall, and Becca fell off into a pile of books. She felt something move in her left hand, and the girl immediately recognized the feel as fur. A tiny meow escaped the object. Becca looked down and saw that Sheila had turned into an illustration, too! "Sheila, are you okay?" Becca asked, "I know I'm not. How will I know when this Bethylasia person comes? And what am I supposed to do to help?"  
"Ye can start by helping me out!" muffled a pirate's voice from under the pile of books.  
"What was that?!" cried Becca.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 - Meeting Adventure**

Becca rummaged through the pile of books and found a strange animal. It was a light brown beaver that had a hook on his front right paw, and a peg on his left hind leg. He was wearing a red and yellow polka-dotted bandana and a black eyepatch over one eye.  
"Aarrgh!" said the beaver, getting up and pointing a sword at the frightened girl and her kitten, "Are ye the ones who threw me from the poopdeck?"  
"What are you talking about?" asked Becca.  
"What's yer title?"  
"Becca," stammered the girl, "Becca Ridges!"  
"A very odd title for a book, I must say," replied the beaver.  
"I'm not a book, and I can prove it!" Becca dug into the pocket of her skirt and picked up a plastic card. "See?" she said, "This is my name!"  
"A library card?!" gasped the beaver, "Shiver me timbers! I didn't know ye was a customer!"  
"Well, actually, I was part of a school field trip," explained Becca, "It's a long story, but your Pagemaster said that I'm supposed to help save a kingdom from an evil curse until the Pagemaster's granddaughter comes and saves the day!"  
"Ye mean Bethylasia?"  
"Yes. But I don't know who Bethylasia is or what she looks like!"

The beaver didn't answer. He just stared at Becca as if she were a magical creature. "Excuse me," said Becca, "But why are you staring at me all of a sudden?"  
"Oh, beg pardon!" said the beaver, "It's just that you look an awful lot like… never mind. Me title is Adventure! I'm the guardian of the Isle of me own name!"  
"You mean you're one of the talking books the Pagemaster was talking about?" asked Becca.  
"Of course! That is, until the wretched sea dragon Malaria turned me into a beaver!"  
"Oh no!" said Becca, "But first thing's first! Where do I begin my quest?"

Adventure started thinking. "Maybe," he said aloud, "We could go down this hallway, and then turn left? No! What about going down the hallway, and just keep going straight? No!" While Adventure was contemplating which direction to go, Becca began to have a strange feeling inside. She picked up Sheila and said, "I don't know, Sheila. Something tells me that I know this place, I just don't know what it is." Becca's thoughts were interrupted when Adventure said, "I've got it! We'll journey up this ladder here, and you can get a look around!"  
"Okay," said Becca, "Would you mind watching over my kitten, please?" She handed Sheila to Adventure while she climbed up a nearby ladder. Immediately, Sheila started playing with Adventure's mustache. "Stop that!" said Adventure, but the kitten toyed around with the ends of the beaver's mustache with her paws.

Meanwhile, Becca had made her way up to the top of the ladder. She climbed onto the top of a bookshelf and looked around. High above her were clouds, rainbows, and colorful birds flying and chirping; there was even a silver flying saucer and a blue and red hot air balloon with a couple riding in its basket. In the distance, a knight was battling a fire-breathing dragon while a fair maiden was gazing out of her tower. There was also a pirate ship, leaping dolphins, a haunted house, and an enchanted forest. Becca turned around and saw something that was the total opposite. Behind her, there was nothing but dark clouds, a purple sky, and menacing creatures. The sight of it made her scream! Back down below, Adventure heard Becca screaming and bumped into the ladder. The ladder then toppled over and fell to the ground!  
"Adventure, help!" screamed Becca.  
"Hold on, lassie!" called Adventure, as he pulled some books off the shelf to make a cushion for Becca to land safely on. "Don't tell me I have to jump down!" cried Becca.  
"Tis the only way!" said Adventure.

Instead, Becca slowly began to climb down from the shelf. She placed her feet one by one on the lower shelves while she used her hands to hold onto a shelf above her head. Just when she was two shelves above the ground, one of her feet slipped off, and Becca began to lose her grip! Quickly, she grabbed onto a shelf with both her hands. Sheila and Adventure gathered more books for Becca to land on. At last, the poor girl couldn't hold on anymore; she lost grip and fell into the pile of books! Becca rubbed her sore backside, but then she heard more muffling underneath her!


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 - Fantasy's Appearance**

Becca immediately stood up and rummaged through the book pile. She felt something fluffy, but then something else slapped her hand! "Ouch!" cried Becca. Out of the book pile came a female lavender-colored squirrel with a tuft of hot pink hair on her head; she also wore a little gold crown and reading glasses. "Serves you right for piling me into the pile and squashing me!" said the squirrel in an African American accent.  
"But I'm not the one who threw you into the pile!" protested Becca, "It was him!" She pointed at Adventure.  
"Adventure!" shouted the squirrel, "I'll deal with you later. Now come over here and help me find my wand!"  
"A wand?" asked Becca, "You must be a fairy godmother!"  
"Yes," said the squirrel, calming down a bit, "After all, it was ME who helped Cinderella go to the ball and meet Prince Charming! My name is Fantasy, guardian of the World of Fantasy within this land of Libralia!"  
"Are you another one of those talking books?" asked Becca.  
"I am! At least I was, until the evil sorceress Malaria turned me into a squirrel. Now I have no wings, no pages, and only a little bit of magic in my wand. Then, again, my wand works better when I'm in my own section."

Becca was looking through the pile of books when she felt something. She picked it up and it looked like a finely thin silver stick. "Is this your wand, Fantasy?" she asked.  
"Why, yes!" said Fantasy, "As a matter of fact, it is, honey!" Fantasy took the wand from Becca's hand and dusted it off a bit. Becca had another thought – Adventure and Fantasy looked and sounded very familiar somehow, but the girl couldn't quite put the pieces of her puzzled memory together. Her thoughts were interrupted when Fantasy said, "Who's this little angel?" Becca snapped out of it and saw that Fantasy was playing with Sheila.  
"Oh, that's Sheila," said Becca, "I can see she likes you already!"  
"Yes she does!" said Fantasy, and then turning to Sheila, she said, "Aren't you? You little honeybun…"  
"All right!" said Adventure, "Playtime's over! It's about time I show ye the way out!"  
"This guy thinks he's too cool for school," Fantasy murmured to Becca.

Adventure was just about to lead the way to what he thought was the way out, when Fantasy stepped in. "Just a minute there, tough guy!" she said, "Who put you in charge of this quest? Haven't you forgotten about who's the magical one?"  
"Now just a minute there, missy!" said Adventure, "I've sailed the seven seas and travelled the seven continents! I know the way out!"

Unknown to anyone, someone was watching them. The strange being crept slowly out of its hiding place and shot a ray gun at Adventure and Fantasy! Luckily, the blast missed both of them. Becca turned her head and looked around for the shooter. "What was that?" she called out.  
"That was me!" said a tough female voice, "What does it take to get a little peace and quiet around here?!"


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 - Sci Fi and Mystery**

Becca got a better look at the strange creature with the ray gun. It was a lemon yellow-colored pine marten with short, black hair and brown eyes. It also had on big, round glasses. The marten looked at Becca and asked, "What are you doing in…. here?" The marten looked at Becca with a look of surprise and confusion.  
"My name is Becca," replied the girl, "My class and I were on a field trip in the library, and I went to the bathroom, but when I came out, everyone was gone, and suddenly, I was in, uh, Libralia, is it?"  
"Yes," said the marten, "Anyway, my name is Science Fiction. I'm the guardian of the Dimension of Science Fiction. But you can call me Sci Fi."  
"So are you another one of those talking books?"  
"Yes," said Sci Fi, "I was, anyway, until that dirty little slut Malaria turned me into a marten! Now I don't have any of my gadgets or medical supplies or weapons! Only this ray gun that I warned your friends over there with."  
"You mean Adventure and Fantasy?" asked Becca.

Sci Fi turned around and saw the beaver and squirrel glaring at her. "You blasted seadog!" cried Adventure, "Ye tried to kill me!" Fantasy was about to yell at the marten when she realized something. "Sci Fi?" said Fantasy, "My best friend?"  
"Fantasy!" said Sci Fi, running to Fantasy and giving her a hug, "C'mere and let the good times roll!" Then, the marten lowered her voice to a whisper. "Do you see what I see?" she asked Fantasy, "That girl may be Incess-pray Ethylasia-bay!"  
"What makes you think that?" Fantasy whispered back.  
"Well, don't you notice her hair and eye colors? Not to mention the necklace around her neck?"  
"What are ye ladies gossipin' about?" asked Adventure.  
"None of your concern, sweetheart!" scoffed Sci Fi, "Now if you don't mind, I think this girl here has a quest she should be fulfilling!"  
"How'd you know about that?" Becca asked Sci Fi.  
"I was hearing everything you and the others said. And as far as I'm concerned, I don't think Bethylasia is too far away to give us assistance!"  
"That's good," said Becca, "Because the sooner I can get done with this quest, the sooner I can get home! My classmates, teacher, and even my parents are probably worried sick about me right now!"  
"I wouldn't worry 'bout that too much," said Adventure, "Because I think I found a book to help us!"

Becca took the book from Adventure and looked at the title. It was _Cujo_ by Stephen King. "Are you sure this is the right one?" the girl asked as she slowly opened the book. Out of the pages came the infamous titular dog with foam coming out of its mouth! Becca screamed and yelled, "RUN!" She, Sheila, and the other animals ran away while the rabid St. Bernard chased them. Not far away, someone heard their cries for help. It was a jade green-colored fisher weasel with a tuft of mahogany-colored hair and green eyes; he also wore little reading glasses. The fisher saw what was going on and cried, "Oh my! Everyone hide here!" Becca heard the request, and she gathered her new animal friends to hide in a bookshelf among other books. When they were well hidden, though, they tumbled down a hill and landed on a pile of leaves!  
"All right!" said Sci Fi, "Whoever called for us to hide here is gonna get a big red scar on his butt!"  
"It was me!" said the voice of the fisher weasel. He came out from the pile of leaves.  
"Are you yet another book who talks?" Becca asked as she looked at the fisher.  
"Indeed I am," replied the fisher, "My name is Mystery, guardian of the Paths of Mystery! Now, I don't mean to be personal, but you, young lady, look exactly like Beth- er, someone I used to know."  
"Is this game?" asked Becca with an annoyed look, "Are you guys trying to say that you think _I_ am Bethylasia?"  
"Not exactly, honey," said Fantasy, "But you do look a lot like her."  
"But I'm not! My name is Becca Ridges, and I'm just an ordinary girl who's lost in this library! But this place doesn't look a library to me…"

Becca looked around and saw dark clouds, dead trees, and a graveyard in the distance. "I think this the Crypts of Horror," Said Sci Fi, "And speaking of which, Mystery, what are you doing here in the wrong section?"  
Mystery replied, "Well, my section is not far away from this part of Libralia. It's just that shortly before I became a fisher, some dim-witted employee from the real world mishelved me! Anyway, we should probably start looking for some way out of this creepy place."  
"I agree," said Becca, clutching Sheila tightly to her warm chest. The kitten let out a contented purr. So the newfound friends started to make their way toward the graveyard. Unknown to them, however, someone not far away was watching and listening to them.


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Malaria's Plot**

A black-feathered raven with a yellow beak was perched on a dead tree branch. "Did those animals say what I think they said?" he asked himself, "Oh, Malaria's gonna be so mad when she finds out that Bethylasia's back!" The raven flew many miles back to the restricted section, Malaria's domain.

The restricted section looked like something out of a horrific fairy tale; the skies were purple with black clouds, bats and birds of prey circled high above, and up atop the highest hill was Malaria's castle. It was a black castle with smoky clouds and ghosts coming out of its dark windows, a moat filled with cloudy water and hungry crocodiles and snakes, and a distinctive high tower where Malaria concocted her evil spells. Eddie flew up to that particular tower, and found Malaria nervously fidgeting her hands and hips in her favorite chair. "Ten years of peace and quiet," she said to herself, "And now something's troubling me!"  
"Your excellency," said Eddie, "I think I may know…"  
"My ghost minions are acting stranger than usual. They're moaning harder than they've ever been in the past decade! I need to look at my crystal ball and see." Just then, Malaria saw Eddie. "Eddie, where have you been?" Malaria demanded as she grabbed the raven around his abdomen, "Here I am, feeling sick and suffering horrific dreams while you go lollygagging about?"  
"But your excellency," protested Eddie, "I think I know what may be troubling you!"  
"You do?" Malaria asked, calming down.  
"Yes! I saw Bethylasia and those books-turned animals walking in the Crypts of Horror!"  
"But this can't be!" said Malaria, "Bethylasia has been missing for ten- wait! Did you say, 'Bethylasia?'"  
The poor raven nodded.  
"Do you mean that I will be defeated?" Malaria asked with worry.  
Eddie was lost in words for what to say. "I hope not," he said, "But there's a slight chance that this girl in the library might…"  
"Bethylasia or not, she can't stop me!" said Malaria, "I'll make sure that my revenge against the little brat's family and grandfather is complete!" Malaria summoned her ghost demons and started singing:

 _In the dark of the night, I was tossing and turning,_  
 _And the nightmare I had was as bad as can be,_  
 _It scared me out of my wits:_  
 _A corpse falling to bits!_  
 _Then I opened my eyes, and the nightmare was me!_

The evil sorceress went over to her black crystal ball, waved her hand, and was given a vision of Becca walking through the graveyard with her new friends.

 _I was once the most mystical dame in all Libralia,_  
 _When my family betrayed me, they made a mistake!_  
 _My curse made each of them pay,_  
 _But one little girl got away!_  
 _Bethylasia, beware! Malaria's awake!_

Then the ghosts, bats, spiders, and rats sang a chorus:

 _In the dark of the night, evil will find her,_  
 _In the dark of the night, just before dawn!_

Malaria rummaged through some books and picked up a big, purple book with an onyx on the front cover.

 _Revenge will be sweet,_  
 _When the curse is complete!_  
 _(In the dark of the night)_  
 _She'll be gone!_

The sorceress turned a few pages until she found the right one to concoct a magic spell from the onyx pendant on her necklace.

 _I can feel that my powers are slowly returning,_  
 _Tie my sash and a dash of cologne for that smell,_  
 _As the pieces fall into place,_  
 _I'll see her crawl into place!_  
 _Do svidaniya, Becca, your grace!_  
 _Farewell!_

 **Creatures:** _In the dark of the night, terror will strike her!_  
 **Malaria:** _Terror's the least I can do!_  
 **Creatures:** _In the dark of the night, evil will brew!_  
 **Malaria:** _Soon she will feel,_  
 _That her nightmares are real!_  
 _(In the dark of the night)_  
 _She'll be through!_

 _In the dark of the night, evil will find her! (Find her)_  
 _In the dark of the night, terror comes true! (Doom_ her)  
 _My dear, here's a sign_  
 _It's the end of the line!_  
 _(In the dark of the night (2x))_

At last, Malaria sent her tens of thousands of ghost minions to scale the horror section and find the perfect fright for Becca and her friends!

 _Come my minions, rise for your mistress,_  
 _Let your evil shine!_  
 _(In the dark of the night (2x))_  
 _Find her now! Yes, fly ever faster!_  
 _(In the dark of the night (3x))_  
 _She'll be mine!_

Author's Note: The Song "In the Dark of the Night" is from Anastasia (c) Fox


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9 - Meeting Horror**

Meanwhile, back in the graveyard, Becca and the book animals were making their way through the cemetery when Mystery saw something. It as a strange-looking house with two distinctive features: a long lightning rod on the left of the roof, as well as a bell tower and the right of the roof. "Hmmmm," said the fisher, "Maybe whoever is living in that house could help us?"  
"I don't know about that," replied Becca, "It looks questionable."  
"I'm afraid it might be the only way out of this creepy place," said Sci Fi.

Eventually, the friends made their way to the house. Scary-looking iron gates guarded by ferocious gargoyles circled the residence. Luckily, the gates were not locked, so Becca pushed open one of the entry doors with all her might to let herself and her friends in. Fantasy read the sign on the entryway. "Dr. Victor Frankenstein," she said, "That name sounds familiar."  
"Sounds familiar to me, too," said Mystery, "I can't put my finger on where I heard it last at the moment."

Becca didn't like the sound of the name "Victor Frankenstein". It reminded her of watching the movie with Boris Karloff as the infamous monster. Her fears were pushed aside, however, when she saw Sheila running toward the front door. "Sheila, come back!" Becca whispered. She picked up her kitten and stared at the door.  
"Better see if anyone's home, lassie," said Adventure. Becca took a deep breath and hesitated.  
"Go ahead," said Sci Fi, "Ring the bell.

Becca breathed very fast and slowly pulled the rope to ring the doorbell. When the bell rang, however, a screaming creature fell from the roof! Sheila ran out of Becca's arms in the nick of time; the creature landed straight into the girl's arms! It was a woodchuck with blue-green fur, long arms, and heterochromia; his left eye was yellow, but his right eye was purple. He also had three little blue curls of fur on top of the right side of his head. "Good catch!" commented Sci Fi, who saw Becca catching the woodchuck in her arms.  
"Here, take it," said Becca.  
"No, you can hold him," said Sci Fi, "He is such a sweetie!"  
"I know," said Fantasy, kissing at him.

The woodchuck looked up at Becca. "Oh, I scared you and your little kitty," he said, "I'm sorry." Becca didn't like the look of the woodchuck's face; it was so misshapen that it disgusted her. "You shouldn't judge a book by its cover," said Fantasy.  
"You mean this thing is another one of those books under Malaria's spell?" asked Becca.  
"Yes, I think so," said Sci Fi. She saw Becca made a disgusted face and said, "Look, he's smiling at you, see?" The woodchuck smiled a big smile at Becca. The girl laughed a little bit as Sheila rubbed her leg with her head and let out a big purr.  
"Alright, ladies!" said an impatient Adventure, "Enough chit-chat! Let's start navigatin' this house!"

The woodchuck gasped and jumped out of Becca's arms. "Wait!" he cried to Adventure, "Don't go in there!"  
"Why not?" asked Mystery.  
"It's scary inside!" said the woodchuck.  
"Pfft! I'm scared of anything!" scoffed Sci Fi, "Back in my dimension, I was an alien exterminator!"  
"I'm afraid," said the woodchuck, tugging on Becca's skirt.  
"Of what?" asked Becca. The woodchuck made several scary faces, noises, and screams to indicate that he was afraid of the horror genre. Ironically, the group learned that his name iwas/i Horror, the guardian of the Crypts of Horror! "I know just how you feel," said Becca, "I'm scared of animals with sharp claws and teeth."

Horror began to feel sad, because most of the other books had stories with happy endings. "Horror never has happy endings," sighed the woodchuck, "They're always sad endings."  
"Well I come from a world of happy endings," said Fantasy.  
"I think you should come with us," said Sci Fi, "Becca, here, says she needs help with a quest."  
"Yeah," said Becca, "You see, it's a long story, but somehow I ended up getting separated from my class during a field trip, and now I have to help save Libralia from Malaria's curse – until a person named Bethylasia arrives. Then, she will finish the quest!"  
"Bethylasia?" gasped Horror; he started to think about whether or not he should accompany Becca and her friends on this seemingly scary and dangerous journey. "You can do it," said Sci Fi.  
"Okay," said Horror. He held out his hand to Becca. "Friends?" he said. Becca just gulped and wondered if she should take Horror along; after all, she thought he was kind of adorable. Just the, a spider crawled on top of Horror's hand! He grabbed it with his other hand, and squashed it. Becca then put her hand down to Horror's as he held it. "It's a deal," she said, "You may come with us!"

The woodchuck then led the group into the house of Victor Frankenstein. Unknown to them, however, Malaria's ghost minions had snuck into the bell tower, and were now travelling under the roof! Soon, they would give their mistress a helping hand in getting rid who she thought was Bethylasia…


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 - Dr. Frankenstein**

Inside the house, everything was very dark and quiet. A fireplace housed a dying fire, lonely tables and chairs had white sheets covering them, and in the corner, there was a mysterious door. Becca wondered where that door would lead. "Hello?" she called. There was no answer. The girl and her friends stepped inside. "Anyone home?" called Sci Fi. The open door suddenly closed behind everyone!  
"What was that?!" cried Horror in alarm.  
"I don't know!" said Mystery, "But whoever closed the door can't be far away from here!"

Just then, the mysterious door in the corner of the room opened! "Who's there?" called Becca, holding Sheila close to her chest. "Only I, the master of this house," was the answer. In walked a man holding a lit candle. He was a tall, pale-skinned man with dark hair and hazel eyes. He was wearing a white lab coat over a white shirt, black pants and black shoes. "Oh," said Fantasy, "Excuse us, mister…"  
"Doctor," said the man, "Dr. Victor Frankenstein."  
"Well, sir," said Sci Fi, "We did ring your doorbell."  
"We're sorry for intruding," said Becca.  
"It's all my fault!" confessed Horror, "I was trying to help them find the other side of the house!"  
"The other side?" said Dr. Frankenstein, "Follow me to my laboratory. I need a little help with an experiment."  
"Experiment?" repeated Becca, sounding a bit worried.  
"This is something I've never shown anyone, but you and your friends may have a glimpse of what will be soon – life after death!"

Meanwhile, Horror was hearing some laughing up in the roof. He searched under a rug, and then he looked at a broken mirror, where he saw many eyes! "AAAAAAAHHH!" he cried, "Not again!" Becca shushed him and told him to relax. Dr. Frankenstein then asked Becca to hold out her finger. "Why?" the girl asked.  
"I need a blood sample," replied the doctor.  
"But I'm not eighteen yet," Becca protested. But the doctor picked up a sharp needle and struck the girl's index finger with it. Becca let out a yelp as five drops of her blood fell into a petri dish. "Perfect!" said Dr. Frankenstein, "At last we are ready!" He added Becca's blood to something on a table that was covered by a long white sheet. Next, he put two cables under the sheet on one end of the table; Becca and Sheila both had a bad feeling about this. At last, Dr. Frankenstein commanded, "Pull the switch!"

Outside, a thunderstorm was starting just as Becca and her friends looked around for a switch; eventually, Horror found a large switch attached to the wall. "I think he means this one, Master!" Becca ran over to the large switch and, with all her might, pulled it down to the bottom. "Now stand back!" Dr. Frankenstein commanded. Everyone did as they were told.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning hit the rod on the roof outside! The electricity from the bolt carried down through the rod, and then it went through a special wire attached to the rod, where it travelled down to Dr. Frankenstein's experiment. The doctor laughed wildly and madly while Becca and her friends stood back in awe. Then, something began to move under the sheets! "It's alive!" whispered Dr. Frankenstein. An ugly green hand from a corpse started to move out from the sheets!  
"IT'S ALIVE!" cried Dr. Frankenstein. The creature under sheets began to moan as it slowly sat up. "I don't like the looks of this!" said Becca, who was now full of fear! The white sheet came off the table, and there, on the table sat what looked like a green skinned man with bolts in his neck, tattered clothing, and stitches covering his body!  
"What is this?" Sci Fi asked Dr. Frankenstein.  
"May I present – life after death!" announced the doctor.

Becca then realized that this creature was the infamous monster that would eventually turn against its creator! "RUN!" she yelled to her friends. The girl and the animals tried running back to the door where they came in, but when they got there, they found that it was locked! The creature let out a snarl, then a growl, and then, it slowly made its way toward its master…


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11 - The Monster Goes Mad**

Frankenstein's monster let out a terrifying groan as it began to turn on its own master! "Please!" cried Dr. Frankenstein, "I am your master! Do as I say!" The creature stopped for a moment, wonder whether or not he should harm his master or not. Instead of getting angry again, he calmed down quite a bit and smiled. "Friend," it said, lending his hand out to the doctor.  
"That's right," said Dr. Frankenstein, "No harm."

Meanwhile, outside the laboratory, Malaria's ghost minions were laughing as they toyed around with the door key; they were the ones who locked Becca and her friends in the lab! "Now let's have some more fun!" said one of the ghosts. It got out a box of matches and said to his comrades, "Outside! Up to the roof!" The other ghosts laughed with content and they made their way to a wall, went through it, and flew up to the top of the house's rooftop. One of the ghosts lit a match, and set it down on the roof, where it began to burn!

Back in the lab, Frankenstein's monster was just getting ready to help his master, when suddenly, he smelled smoke! The monster let out a big roar and yelled, "FIRE! NO FIRE!" Becca and her friends just stood there, terrified. But then, Mystery noticed a trapdoor underneath the experimenting table. "Quick," he said, "Into that trapdoor!" Becca got down on her knees and crawled toward the trapdoor. It was quite a struggle to open the door, but she managed; however, the force of pulling the door open caused to fall back and land on her backside! The monster noticed and charged toward the girl! Horror tried to stop him by climbing onto the top of a medicine cabinet, but the cabinet was so wobbly that it toppled over! Luckily, Horror was unhurt; Becca picked him up as the group all scrambled into the trapdoor.

As everyone travelled under the laboratory, Becca could hear the monster stomping around and growling above her. "I think he's gonna follow us!" she said, "We have to keep going!" Everywhere the friends went, the walls were decorated with cobwebs, spiders, and rats. "I hate this place!" cried Becca. Eventually, they came to another staircase that was going up. "We have to go up!" cried Horror, "Oh, sanctuary! Sanctuary!" Everyone went up the stairs. It was a long, dark and scary journey up those steps, but at last, they made it to the roof of the house! However, just when they thought they were safe, a fire was building up!  
"We have to jump off!" said Sci Fi.  
"But where will we land?" asked Becca.  
"Down there!" said Adventure, pointing towards the ground. Where he was pointing, there was a pile of snow.  
"How did THAT get there?" asked Becca.  
"Maybe it snowed while we were in the house," suggested Mystery, "Anyway, we should get moving!" The fisher jumped into the pile of snow. Then, one by one, all the animals jumped into the snow pile (except Sheila, who was too little to jump). "Well!" shouted Sci Fi from down below, "Come on, Becca! You can do this!" Becca hesitated for a moment, but then she noticed the burning flames and heard the monster's voice from inside the house. "I'll do it!" she said. Clutching Sheila close to her chest, Becca jumped from the roof of the house and into the snow! When she got up, neither the girl nor her cat felt any pain. All the other animals cheered!

Meanwhile, Malaria's ghost minions were furious that they were defeated. Quickly, they flew away to the restricted section to spread the news to their mistress. When Malaria heard the news, she became red with fury. "This can't be!" cried the sorceress, "Why did the little brat and those animals have to escape?"  
"I don't know, your Excellency," said Eddie, "But maybe you shouldn't be so vengeful and violent. You know, you should try poisoning her or drowning her."  
"Eddie," said Malaria, "This girl is a feisty one. Just as feisty as Bethylasia. She needs something else, something that she fears the most!" And so, the wicked sorceress went back to her big book of spells to research another way to kill Becca.


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12 - Entering the Mystery Section**

Meanwhile, Becca and the book animals were making their way through a snowy countryside. "Brrrrr!" said Adventure, "Tis sure is colder than the Arctic!"  
"I agree," said Mystery, "But something tells me we're getting close to MY section!"  
"You mean we'll be solving mysteries?" asked Becca, with her teeth chattering from the cold.  
"I think so," Mystery replied.  
"Let's see," said Fantasy, tapping her wand, "I think I'd better help you out a bit, Becca." She waved her wand and pointed it at Becca. In a flash, the girl was wearing a dark blue cloak around her neck to keep her warm. Sheila, who was sleeping in Becca's arms, let out a contented purr. "Thanks, Fantasy," said Becca, "I'm not so cold now!"  
"Anytime, honey," said Fantasy.

The group walked through the snow for several minutes until they came across an English town at dawn. "Ah, merry old London town!" said Mystery, "I think anytime soon we'll be meeting an old friend of mine."  
"And who would that be?" Sci Fi asked.  
"Why, Sherlock Holmes, of course!" replied Mystery with big enthusiasm. Sherlock Holmes was one of the most famous detective characters in the mystery fiction genre. Even though Becca never read mystery stories, she felt very relieved when she learned that she may have help if there were any challenges in the Paths of Mystery.

So the girl and her animal friends travelled into the streets of London and saw Victorian and Edwardian commoners getting ready to start their day. Shops, restaurants, and bakeries were opening up their doors, carriages pulled by horses were going by on the main streets, and people were walking on sidewalks saying "Good morning" to each other. "Now then," Mystery told Becca, "The Street we're looking for is Baker Street. That's where Mr. Holmes and his friend Dr. Watson reside."  
"How are we going to find Baker Street in this big place?" Horror asked worriedly. Suddenly, everyone jumped to the sound of a policeman blowing his whistle and shouting, "Stop! Come back here!" A mysterious person with a dark cape ran past Becca and her friends with something clutched in his or her arms, with the policeman right behind, blowing his whistle! However, the mysterious stranger disappeared in a large crowd of shoppers before the policeman could catch him. "Excuse me," Becca said to the policeman.  
"Yes?" the man said in a gruff tone of voice.  
"My friends and I are looking for Baker Street. We were wondering if you could tell us how to find Mr. Sherlock Holmes."  
"Mr. Holmes?" said the policeman, "You mean you're researching the case of the Blue Carbuncle, too?"  
Becca was lost in words. "Uh, yeah," she stammered, "W-we are, uh, employees of the, er…"  
"Hotel that the carbuncle was stolen from!" finished Mystery.  
"Very well," said the policeman, "Just turn right at the next block, and Mr. Holmes's residence will be the second apartment on the left."  
"Thank you, sir!" said Becca, gathering her friends together. Then, she turned to Mystery and whispered, "And thank _you_ for helping me out." The fisher just winked at her as they all made their way to Baker Street.


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13 - Sherlock Holmes**

When Becca and the animals reached the right destination, the girl knocked on the door. A few seconds later, the door was opened by an elderly man who had a bald head white white sideburns and mustache, and was wearing a black and white suit. "Good morning," he said, "How may I help you lot?"  
"Are you Dr. Watson?" asked Mystery.  
"Why, yes!" replied the doctor, "What brings you here to Baker Street?"  
"We're looking for Sherlock Holmes," said Becca, "Is he around?"  
"As a matter of fact, he is," said Dr. Watson, "Allow me to lead you inside to me him!" The doctor took the friends inside the apartment, where they saw a young man sitting in an armchair and smoking a pipe while reading a newspaper. "My dear Watson," said the young man, "It appears to me that we have unexpected company."  
"Of course," said Dr. Watson, "Allow me to introduce you to uh, er-" he looked at Becca and asked, "What is your name, miss?"  
"Becca Ridges," the girl replied, "My friends and I were wondering if you could help us." The young man sat up from his chair and stepped forward toward Becca, introducing himself as Sherlock Holmes. Mystery cleared his throat and said, "Well if it isn't my dear friend Mr. Holmes!" he cried, rushing into the detective's arms to hug him. Sherlock immediately recognized the fisher as his friend. "My dear Mystery!" said the detective, "What brings you and your friends here onto Baker Street?"  
"Well, sir," said Mystery, "Becca is on a special quest, and I was wondering if you and Dr. Watson may be able to help us for a little while."  
"Elementary, my dear," Sherlock said to Becca, "I, too, am on a quest. Well, if you would call it a quest, but it's more of a mystery involving a carbuncle."  
"Ewww!" said Becca, but then she remembered her manners, "Excuse me. It's just that-"  
"I know what you mean," said Holmes, "Tis not that kind of carbuncle. It is a kind of diamond that is supposed to be owned by the Countess of Morcar; however, I have received news that it has been stolen! So Dr. Watson and I were just getting ready to set out when you came knocking on my door. Are you on the same mission, too?"

Becca thought for a while, but she was still thinking about getting home. The girl missed her mother's smile and her father's cheerful laugh already; however, her look of worry turned to determination when she said, "It's kind of a long story, but I was on a trip with my class from school when something odd happened and I ended up here. I'm trying to get home, but maybe I could spare a little time to try and help you."  
"Splendid!" said Dr. Watson, "Starting this minute, we should all head out to the hotel where the carbuncle was stolen!" So Watson and Holmes put on their coats and grabbed their detective kit, with Becca and the animals following. Sci Fi wasn't so sure if Becca should be tagging along on something that seemed dangerous, so she whispered to Mystery, "Are you sure you want this girl to be solving mysteries right now? I saw that she was looking a little worried about her other quest."  
"Not to worry," Mystery whispered back, "Something inside me is saying that Becca needs to pass a test here in my section." Sci Fi just shrugged her shoulders and kept on walking with the others.

Meanwhile, Holmes signaled a cabby coachman driving a horse and carriage to stop by the street. When the coachman arrived and opened his carriage door, Holmes and Watson signaled to Becca to step in. "Ladies first!" said Dr. Watson.  
"Why thank you," Becca said, curtseying a little bit. When she sat down inside, she wondered why she curtseyed to the men. _Have I done this before,_ she thought. Her thoughts were interrupted when her new friends hopped into the carriage beside her. The coach then started moving, and the horse trotted a snappy pace to the hotel where the carbuncle was stolen.


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14 - On the Case of the Blue Carbuncle**

About twenty minutes later, Becca, the animals, Dr. Watson and Mr. Holmes arrived at a grand inn in downtown London. "Here we are," said Holmes, "The crime scene. I only hope the countess is still here to explain everything."  
 _Me too,_ thought Becca, _because the sooner we get done here, the sooner I can go home._ After everyone got out of the carriage, Mr. Holmes and Dr. Watson went through the main doors to speak with the innkeeper, while Becca and the animals waited outside, because pets and other animals were forbidden inside the building.  
"How are we going to get in without being spotted?" Mystery asked Becca.  
The girl shrugged her shoulders and said, "I don't know."  
"Well, we have to think of something to help you succeed this quest!" insisted Sci Fi.  
Mystery snapped his fingers and said, "Wait a minute!"

Meanwhile, Holmes and Watson had finished speaking with the innkeeper inside the inn. They learned that the countess was still in her room, and was getting ready to leave the next day. When the two detectives came outside to check on Becca, they were surprised to find the animals gone. The girl, however, was carrying her cloak over her shoulders. There was something unusual, though; the cloak had some kind of bundle inside it.  
"Might I ask what you are carrying, my dear lady?" asked Dr. Watson.  
Becca motioned the doctor to come close to her ear so she could whisper. "It's the animals," she whispered, "I doubt that the innkeepers will let pets in the inn, so Mystery and I came up with a plan to have everyone hide in my cloak and be still. You know, they could be my luggage or my laundry!"  
"Excellent thinking, my dear!" said Dr. Watson, "And you're right – the innkeepers do not allow any kind of animals in this building."  
"Elementary, my dear Becca," added Mr. Holmes, "Shall we?" He motioned for Becca to enter in the inn first, followed by Dr. Watson, with Holmes going inside last.

Inside the inn, people were staring at Becca; she wore her skirt at a rather low level for Victorian times, and her feet and ankles were showing. The girl looked around feeling rather sheepish. Meanwhile, inside the cloak, all the animals were feeling rather crowded, being in a dark, enclosed space. They didn't dare say anything, because they didn't want to add any more suspicion. After about ten minutes of walking through hallways and stairs, Sherlock Holmes and his party came to the duchess's room. When he knocked on the door, a middle-aged woman opened it. She had fair skin, dark brown hair, sapphire blue eyes, and wore a blue and indigo dress with a blue headdress on her head.  
Holmes and Watson removed their hats and bowed to the woman. "Your excellency," they said. Becca did a curtsey.  
"Are you Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson?" asked the woman, who was, indeed the countess.  
"Yes, your grace," said Holmes, "May I present a new friend of mine, Miss Becca Ridges?"  
"Your grace – I mean, your excellency," said Becca, "The pleasure is mine."  
"This friend of yours seems like an American girl, if you ask me," said the countess. Then she motioned for everyone to come in.

In the hotel suite, Becca put her heavy cloak gently onto the carpet. "Okay," she whispered to the animals, "Stay very close and act inconspicuous! The last thing I want is for the countess to see any suspicious behavior!"  
"Why?" asked Horror.  
Becca shushed him. "And be very quiet, too!" she added.  
"Whomever are you talking to?" the countess asked the girl.  
"Eh, no one," lied Becca, putting her hands onto her hips.  
The countess just rolled her eyes and said, "Now, about my carbuncle. It is a very rare blue diamond shaped like an oval that I have usually worn as a brooch on my neck. The carbuncle was given to me by my husband on my last birthday, and I treasure it very much. I had it with me just last night, and I put it on that dresser over there. About two hours after I went to bed, I heard a sound like breaking glass! I woke up and saw that my window was broken into, and a strange, dark figure ran over to the dresser and stole my carbuncle! I tried to stop him, but he got away!" The countess then burst into tears and began crying.  
Dr. Watson put his hand on the countess's shoulder and reassured her, "Tis all right, your excellency. Mr. Holmes and I will solve this case, I guarantee it!"  
"Yeah," added Becca, "And besides, I think we, er, I saw the thief not too long ago!"

Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, and the countess looked at Becca as if she had lobsters crawling out of her ears. "What do you mean?" asked Mr. Holmes.  
"You see," explained Becca, "As I was walking through town this morning, some man wearing dark clothing was running on the streets and being chased by an officer. Maybe you two men could come with me to where I saw him?"  
Dr. Watson and Mr. Holmes thought for a moment. "I don't see why not," said Dr. Watson, "Besides, don't you have other business to do after helping us?"  
"Yes!" Becca said with a smile on her face. She then went back to where her friends were staying to tell them the news. But when she looked closer, Becca saw that Sheila was missing!


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: An Unexpected Heroine**

"Where's Sheila?" Becca whispered to the animals.  
"I don't know, honey," whispered Fantasy, "But the last time I saw her, she went that way." The squirrel pointed to the door to the suite, which was open!  
"Oh no!" Becca said softly, "Sheila could be wandering around anywhere – and someone might see her!" She got back on her feet and walked towards the men and the countess. "Pardon me," said Becca, "But I have some unexpected business to take care of. May I be excused?"  
"Of course," said the countess, "You have such nice manners for an American. Maybe you'll come back to assist me with finding my carbuncle?"  
"Maybe," replied Becca, heading towards the door. She then motioned for her animal friends to follow her, and act inconspicuous.

The girl and the animals looked down the hallway for Sheila. The kitten wasn't anywhere. They tried searching on all the floors of the hotel, but Sheila was nowhere to be seen! Down in the lobby, Becca was getting very worried until she heard a faint meow from behind her. She turned around and saw a wall that had a large hole at its bottom.  
"Sheila?" Becca wondered. She and the animals were about to look into the hole, when Horror tugged at the girl's skirt.  
"Mistress, I see her!" the woodchuck whispered. He pointed to a window, where he saw Sheila prancing on a street.  
Becca turned and immediately saw her kitten. "We have to get her!" she cried. So she and the animals ran out of the hotel's main entry door to follow Sheila. Outside, the streets and sidewalks of London were much busier than earlier in the morning; it was very hard for Becca to find a tiny kitten within a large crowd of people, horses and carriages!  
Down by the girl's knees, Mystery saw something and pointed. "There's the kitten!" he cried, "And someone has her!"  
Becca looked in Mystery's direction and was horrified by what she saw: Sheila was trapped in the arms of a man in dark clothes – and the man looked very much like the runaway criminal earlier!

The girl and her friends immediately ran after the man, while people and carriages swerved and tried to move out of the way. "STOP, THIEF!" Becca screamed at the top of her lungs. The thief jumped over a fence, but the girl had fast reflexes, so she and her friends were able to jump over and catch up to him. Eventually, Becca caught up with the thief and pushed him to the ground. "Where's my kitten?" she demanded angrily.  
"What kitten?" the thief questioned in a thick Cockney accent. As if it were instinctive, Sheila carefully crawled out from the thief's grasp and over to Becca. The kitten was carrying a shiny blue object in her mouth, so the girl picked her up and gently took the object away.  
"So this must be the missing carbuncle!" Becca exclaimed.  
"I think so," said Mystery, then he turned to the thief and said, "Where and how did you get this carbuncle?"  
"I ain't telling you blokes!" shouted the thief.  
"TELL US!" Sci Fi shouted with fury.  
"All right!" the thief said, getting up, "I wanted to surprise my dear mother for Christmas by hiding a jewel in the goose dinner!"  
Becca gave the animals a look of suspicion. "This doesn't seem right," she whispered to them.  
"But being a poor chap," continued the man, "I had no pounds or shillings to afford such a thing. So I saw the closest thing, which was an open hotel window, and there was the prettiest blue thing I've ever seen. So I took it!"

Just then, two police officers, Sherlock Holmes, and Dr. Watson arrived at the scene. One officer asked, "All right, what's going on here?"  
"Never mind what's going on!" said Mr. Holmes, "This girl is a hero!" The detective made his way over to Becca and took her hand. "Elementary, my dear, you've caught what appears to be the carbuncle thief!" said Holmes.  
"Well, actually," said Becca, "He was after my-"  
Her sentence was cut off when the second police officer said, "Good show, Mr. Holmes! Another criminal has been caught, thanks to your new friend!"  
Meanwhile, Fantasy and Sci Fi motioned for Becca to walk away slowly from the action. The girl did as she was instructed and gathered all her friends. They ran through the streets of London until they came to a meadow away from the bustle and action.  
"Good riddance!" scoffed Adventure, "I've never cared for the stench of old London, anyway!"  
"I most certainly agree," said Mystery. Then he turned to Becca and said, "Excellent job, my dear! If it weren't for you, that thief would have never been caught!"  
The girl only blushed a little and said, "I wonder what will happen next?"  
"I can't exactly say what happens next, because that would be a spoiler for you!" laughed Mystery, "But unless you've read that story…"  
"I haven't," Becca said with a smile, "So maybe I'll look for it back in the real world."  
"Speaking of worlds," added Sci Fi as she cleaned her glasses with her tail, "I doubt that we're far away from my section – the Dimension of Science Fiction! Just follow me, and we'll be there in no time!"


	17. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16 - Sci Fi's Tour**

Science Fiction headed to the left side of Becca, and everyone else followed her. Slowly, the meadow began to change into a place filled with neon colors, an open sky, and shooting stars. One large star flew towards the ground, and close to the party!  
Sci Fi hopped onto that very star and said, "Come on, everyone!"  
Becca and the other animals followed her lead. After everyone was aboard, the star began to levitate off the ground and up into the sky. "Where are we going?" Becca asked.  
"Into the atmosphere!" said Sci Fi. As they went higher into the sky, Sci Fi began to sing:

 _I can show you a world,_  
 _Shining, shimmering, splendid!_  
 _Tell me, Becca, now when did_  
 _You last let your heart decide?_

The star stopped by a cloud. Sci Fi stepped onto the cloud, and didn't fall through! As she motioned for everyone to follow her, she kept singing:

 _I can open your eyes,_  
 _Take you wonder by wonder,_  
 _Over, sideways, and under_  
 _On an atmospheric ride!_

Everyone ran and skipped around on the cloud, having the time of their lives!

 **Sci Fi:** _A whole new world,_  
 _A new, fantastic point of view!_  
 _No one to tell us no,_  
 _Or where to go,_  
 _Or say we're only dreaming!_  
 **Becca:** _A whole new world!_  
 _A dazzling place I never knew,_  
 _But when I'm way up here,_  
 _It's crystal clear,_  
 _That now I'm in a whole new world with you!_  
 **Mystery:** _Now I'm in a whole new world with you!_

The sky was getting dark when another shooting star came to the cloud that Becca and the animals were on. Sci Fi hopped onto the star, and then had everyone else get on, too. When the whole party was aboard, the star began to float slowly, but then it picked up speed and took everyone on a ride of excitement!

 **Becca:** _Unbelievable sights!_  
 _Indescribable feeling!_  
 _Soaring, tumbling, free-wheeling,_  
 _Through an endless diamond sky!_  
 _A whole new world!_  
 **Fantasy:** _Don't you dare close your eyes!_  
 **Becca:** _A hundred thousand things to see!_  
 **Sci Fi:** _Hold your breath, it gets better!_

The star holding the group darted right into the Northern Lights, and Becca held her hand up against the bright colors! Then, the star kept going around the universe.

 **Becca:** _I'm like this shooting star,_  
 _I've come so far!_  
 _I can't go back to where I used to be!_  
 **Mystery:** _A whole new world!_  
 **Becca:** _Every turn, a surprise!_  
 **Mystery:** _With new horizons to pursue!_  
 **Becca:** _Every moment gets better!_  
 **All:** _I'll chase them anywhere!_  
 _There's time to spare!_  
 _Let me share this whole new world with you!_

The group flew by a planet inhabited by friendly aliens. The aliens waved hello to the travelers before Becca and the animals made their way back to Earth.

 **Sci Fi:** _A whole new world!_  
 **Mystery:** _A whole new world!_  
 **Fantasy:** _That's where we'll be!_  
 **Horror:** _A thrilling chase!_  
 **Becca:** _A wondrous place!_  
 **All:** _For you and me!_

The shooting star slowed down upon entering Earth's atmosphere, and then made its way towards the ground. When they landed, Becca and the animals found themselves on a green plain with strange-looking trees and odd marble structures.  
"Sci Fi, do you know where we are?" Becca asked.  
The marten looked around a bit and said, "I think we may be in a certain novel by H.G. Wells about time travel."  
" _The Time Machine_?" asked the girl.  
Sci Fi nodded. Suddenly, from out of the blue, a flashing yellow light appeared about ten feet away from Becca and her friends!

Author's Note: The song "A Whole New World" belongs to Disney. No Copyright infringement needed.


	18. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17 - _The Time Machine_ 's World**

The light flashed and sparks flew before all of a sudden, a strange machine appeared in the place of the disappearing light! At that moment, Becca and her friends ran to a nearby bush and hid behind it. The friends saw a young man step out of the machine. He had fair skin, golden brown hair, and hazel eyes; he also wore a white shirt, a dark green vest with a matching tie, a brown jacket and slacks, and black shoes. "Where am I?" the man asked himself as he looked around. Everywhere he looked, there were trees that looked as if they were made from stone or metal instead of wood; the sky above was also a pale purple color with streams of white clouds.

Meanwhile, Becca and the animals tried to stay absolutely quiet. "It must be another mad scientist," whispered Horror nervously, "Oh, I hope he doesn't have any more experiments or monsters! Sanctuary, sanctuary!"  
Sci Fi softly shushed him and whispered, "This guy's a scientist, alright. But I don't think it's what he's brought with him that we have to worry about – it's what's in this time period that I'm concerned about!"  
"What do you mean?" Becca asked.  
"No time to explain!" whispered Sci Fi, "They're coming!" She motioned for everyone to stay low and keep silent. Becca had many questions to ask Sci Fi, but she knew better to keep her mouth shut.  
In the meantime, the Time Traveler heard strange and scary noises, so he decided to hide behind a marble statue and study the sound source in secrecy as it came near! Out of nowhere came little people with pale skin, white hair, and blue eyes. They also wore cream-colored tunics and gold sandals as they walked along, looking for any nearby danger. Then they spoke in a strange language, unlike any Becca had ever heard; the little people then moved on their way, but one of them stayed behind. That one looked like a young woman, and she wandered down the hill and disappeared; the Time Traveler decided to follow her while Becca and the animals kept watching silently.

When the coast was clear, Becca asked Sci Fi, "Who are those people? Do you know?"  
"Those are the Eloi people from the year 802,701, A.D," answered the marten, "They are gentle descendants of humans who live in fancy, futuristic structures, and they only eat fruit."  
"So they're kind of like monkeys or chimps?" Becca wondered.  
"Almost. They usually avoid conflict, and they don't eat insects."  
Becca giggled at the last part, but then she heard a squeal from the hill! "Someone's in trouble!" she said, "I should go check it out!"  
So the girl got on her feet and ran out from the behind the bush. However, Sci Fi tried to stop her by saying, "Wait! Becca, I forgot to warn you…" But Becca had already disappeared to the nearby hill.  
"What were you going to warn her about?" asked Mystery.  
"The morlocks," answered Sci Fi, "They're kind of like ancient troglodytes – the polar opposite of the Eloi. They are vicious and aggressive like wolves or lions!"  
"I think we should help her!" suggested Horror worriedly, "Oh, sanctuary! Sanctuary!"  
"Great idea!" said Sci Fi, "I'm going after her!"  
"NO!" cried Mystery, grabbing Sci Fi by the tail.  
"Why not?" the marten asked with a frown.  
"Because I don't want you to become venison stew with those creatures – if they're out there," replied the fisher, "I care about you very much."  
Sci Fi could see a look of love in his eyes, but she ignored them and ran off to find Becca. "Be careful, Sci Fi!" called Fantasy. Little did anyone know that certain scary creatures were hiding not too far away…

Meanwhile, on the other side of the hill, Becca saw what was happening. The Eloi woman had fallen into a raging river, and the Time Traveler was swimming to her aid. _I guess she doesn't need my help, after all,_ thought Becca. Her thoughts were interrupted when the Time Traveler cried, "Excuse me, Miss! I need help here!"  
Becca looked around, thinking of what to do, and then she took off her glasses, put them in her skirt pocket, and dove into the river! She grabbed the Time Traveler's arm with her right hand, and then helped him and the Eloi girl to shore. Sci Fi arrived just in time to see what was going on. "Becca, did you save their lives?" she asked with astonishment.  
The girl was about to speak up when the Time Traveler said, "Of course she did! I thought this poor creature and I were to be swept away, when I saw this other time traveler looking around, and I called for her aid. And sure enough, she saved us!"  
Poor Becca was dumbfounded. She was at the wrong place, but at the right time. "Um, I'm not really a time traveler," she explained, "It's a pretty long story, but I got transported to Libralia, and I'm trying to help save this kingdom from a curse until a lost princess comes."  
The Time Traveler looked at Becca like he didn't believe her, but then his expression softened. "So you must have been transported here as well, haven't you?" he asked.  
"In a way, kind of," replied the girl. Then she looked at the Eloi girl and asked, "Is she going to be okay?"  
"Of course," replied Sci Fi, "Look. She's breathing." It wasn't long before the Eloi girl opened her eyes and looked at the strange visitors in her land.  
"Weeee-naaaahh," the Eloi woman said, groggily.  
"I wonder if that's her name," said the Time Traveler, "Weena. That's an interesting name." Then he looked at "Weena" and made movements with his hands to communicate with her.  
"What are they saying?" Becca asked Sci Fi.  
The marten studied the man and woman and replied, "I think he's trying to ask her what happened, and why she ran away to the river." She paused with a suspicious look on her face, and then said, "I think I know why. Morlocks!"  
When Weena heard that word, she shuddered. "What are morlocks?" Becca asked. Suddenly, there came a menacing growl, followed by several more growls. Everyone turned around and saw large, green ape-like creatures with white fur and sharp teeth!  
"Those are morlocks!" said Sci Fi.


	19. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18 - A Battle and a Love Confession**

The morlocks approached the party with angry and fierce eyes that were glowing red. All Becca could do was scream; that made one of the morlocks roar a loud roar! Poor Weena helplessly pointed out the creatures while making noises that sounded just as frightened as Becca was. "Stand back!" Sci Fi told her friends as she ran forward, "At my place, I'm an alien exterminator. I know what to do with these punks!"  
"Be careful, Sci Fi!" said Becca with fear in her voice. The marten didn't listen; instead, she just darted right in front of the morlocks, and began to fight with them!

Back on the hilltop, the other book animals and Sheila watched with cringes and amazement. "What is she doing?" wondered Fantasy.  
"It looks like she's tryin' to beat those things like a wave does to a navy ship," said Adventure.  
"I think she may need help," said Mystery, "Because, well, I… love her."  
Everyone looked at the fisher with awe. "You what?" said Fantasy.  
"Ever since I first saw her beautiful brown eyes and raven hair," said Mystery, "I admired her. Even if she seems tough and serious, I think she's the kind of girl for me. That's why I'm going to help her!" And with that, Mystery ran down the hill to help Sci Fi confront the morlocks.  
Down below, Sci Fi bit one morlock hard on the leg, making it scream in pain; just then, another morlock grabbed the marten by the tail and threw her towards the hill's slope! After she fell, Sci Fi struggled to get up, but two morlocks surrounded her. That didn't stop her, though, because she regained composure and jumped into one of the creatures' face and clawed and bit around its cheeks! Becca, the Time Traveler, and Weena cringed as they watched the sight. Suddenly, Mystery appeared and jumped onto one of the morlocks, biting it on the neck! The morlock turned around and growled at the fisher.  
Sci Fi became distracted, and gasped when she saw Mystery fighting the morlocks, too. "Mystery?" she said softly. Unfortunately, one of the morlocks she was fighting subdued her by grabbing her by the waist, roaring a monstrous roar at her, and throwing her to the ground. Meanwhile, Mystery fought with all his might to defeat the morlocks, but the creatures were all too much for him, too!

While watching her friends fight the morlocks, Becca began to think a bit. She remembered the horrific day when she lost Nicole, and couldn't do anything to save her. This made her not only afraid, but also gave her a deep and terrible fury. Almost immediately, Becca screamed and charged towards the morlocks! She grabbed one of them by the neck, and pushed it to the ground. Next, she kicked another morlock in the rear with her foot, making it wince in pain. Finally, Becca picked up a large stick that was nearby, and whacked two more morlocks on the heads with the stick. "YOU LEAVE MY FRIENDS ALONE, YOU MONSTROUS APES!" the girl screamed while she beat the creatures. Eventually, the morlocks whimpered and ran away, because they knew that Becca was too much for them.  
When the morlocks disappeared, Adventure, Fantasy, Horror and Sheila ran down the hill to check to see if anyone was hurt. Becca didn't have any cuts or bruises, Mystery only had one scrape on his back, and Sci Fi – well, she was hurt pretty badly. "Is your friend okay, Miss?" the Time Traveler asked Becca.  
"I don't know," replied the auburn-haired girl, running to her friend.  
Sci Fi moaned and looked up at Becca, saying, "You and Mystery just saved my life."  
"Of course," said Mystery, "I care about you, Sci Fi." He then blushed red and stammered, "In fact, I-I… love you."  
Sci Fi's eyes lit up and she asked, "You do?"  
Becca smiled and said, "He's your friend, and he would do anything to help you, Sci Fi. In the meantime, I think I should help you."

The Time Traveler and Weena saw Sci Fi's plight and they both walked up to her. Weena reached into her tunic pocket and pulled out a small, transparent bag containing herbs. The Eloi girl gave the bag to Becca, who sniffed it and said, "Willow bark! That's perfect for helping with pain." The Time Traveler then reached into his coat pocket and got a small pouch with first aid items. He gave the pouch to Becca, who opened it and found a canteen of wine to disinfect Sci Fi's gash on her back, along with some bandages to dress her wound.  
After Becca tended the marten's wound, Sci Fi said, "Thank you, sweetheart. You know, you showed a lot of courage battling those morlocks."  
"I did," said the auburn-haired girl proudly, "Watching those meanies beat you up reminded me of a bear attack, and I had to help." Her smile turned upside-down when she thought of the terrible day when Nicole died.  
"What's wrong?" Sci Fi asked before chewing on some willow bark.  
Becca shook her head and said, "Nothing." Weena made a sympathetic noise and gave Becca a little hug.  
"It looks like my new friend thanks you, too," said the Time Traveler, "I know that I thank you, too. Now I'd better keep exploring this futuristic world with Weena if you don't mind."  
Becca began to smile and said, "Not at all. In fact, I think my friends and I should get going. I have to save this book kingdom from a curse until a lost princess comes!"  
"She's right," said Adventure, "I think I know where to go next!"  
After waving goodbye to the Time Traveler and Weena, Becca and the animals kept on travelling through the Science Fiction section until they could smell an ocean nearby. "Ahhhh," said Adventure, "Breathe in the salty air, for the Isle of Adventure is near!" Becca smiled a big smile as she hugged Sheila and Sci Fi in her arms, because she knew that she was another step closer to finishing her quest!


	20. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19 - Malaria's Next Scheme**

Back in the Restricted Section, Malaria was up in her castle, still pondering for a way to kill Becca and strengthen her curse. Suddenly, Eddie, who was looking at his mistress's crystal ball said, "Malaria! Come look at this!"  
Malaria rushed over and asked, "What is it?"  
"It looks like Bethylasia and her friends have gotten past the Mystery and Sci Fi sections without any trouble!" answered Eddie with enthusiasm, "Except for fighting those thieves and morlocks, of course!"  
Malaria groaned and said, "WHY?! Why must passing these kinds of tests be so easy for the little brat?! But just you wait, Eddie. My precious amulet around my neck will give me answers!" She then waved her fingers over the purple pendant on her necklace, and smoke arose from the stone. "Spirit of my magic necklace," said Malaria, "I command you give me answers! What other ways do you know of destroying Bethylasia?"  
The smoke formed into a large purple ghost with black eyes. "Powerful Malaria," it said, "Must you disturb me from my nocturnal bliss again? You do know that there is a price you pay for using my magic, right?"  
Malaria looked at her hand, and saw that it was slowly wrinkling. Over the years, her magic kept her looking young, but every time she called upon the ghost in her necklace, she had to give up some of her youth to get more dark magic. "I understand, spirit," said Malaria as she looked back up at the ghost, "But I insist that I have just a little more so I can do away with my cousin's granddaughter. She is a threat to my plot of destroying literature and happiness!"  
The ghost waved his cloudy fingers in the air, and then purple and black smoke and sparkles appeared, scattering all over the room. "Now, Malaria," the ghost finished, "I want you to promise that you will use this magic wisely. If you do, I will restore your youth. But if not, the next time you call upon me will be the last! Good day!" With that, the ghost disappeared in thin air.

The evil sorceress then looked at her crystal ball and ordered, "Show me that girl and the animals!" The crystal ball gave an image of Becca and her animal friends in the Isle of Adventure, preparing to ride a small boat in the ocean. "So, you're in the Isle of Adventure, eh?" said Malaria to Becca's image, "There are wicked demons all around when it comes to these kinds of stories! And as your little beaver friend probably knows, not all sharks or killer whales are in the water. I shall send some company upon the sea to subdue you and your friends!" After the image disappeared, Malaria called for her ghost minions, and ordered them to travel to the Isle of Adventure.  
"Yes, most powerful sorceress!" saluted one ghost.  
"We'll see to it that Bethylasia never breaks your curse, my lady!" said another ghost.  
"Excellent!" said Malaria. Her evil smile turned into a frown as she added, "But do NOT fail me like you did in the Horror section! Understand?"  
The ghosts all saluted like soldiers and shouted, "YES, MA'AM!"  
"Now go out there and stop that little brat!" Malaria ordered as she pointed her finger to an open window. Once again, the ghosts moaned and laughed as they flew off to the Adventure section to do their mistress's bidding…


	21. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20 - Stormy Seas and Pirates**

In the Adventure section, Becca and her friends had just finished launching a boat out to sea. "Oh, I don't feel confident about this boat, mistress," Horror said with worry, "What if we spring a leak, or meet hungry sharks? I can't stand the thought of either of them!" With those words, he hid his face into the front of Becca's skirt.  
"It's okay, Horror," said Becca as she knelt down and comforted the woodchuck, "I've been on boats lots of times. I don't think anything like leaks or sharks will happen! I hope."  
"If anything does," added Sci Fi with a sly grin, "I can help us – in my time period, I travel a lot by airplane and flying saucer!"  
"Not to mention stars!" Fantasy added.  
"All right, ye mermaids!" said Adventure with impatience in his voice, "That's enough chit-chat! Let's get this boat a-movin' if the curse is ever going to be broken!"  
"Right," said Becca as she helped her animal friends into the boat. She looked out at the open water for a moment and wondered. _I think I may have actually been here before,_ she thought, _It's just that I can't really remember._  
Mystery saw Becca trapped in a train of thoughts, and asked her, "Um, Becca, darling, is something wrong?"  
Becca shook her head and said, "Um, no! It's just that I vaguely remember this part of the library. I think I dreamed one time about travelling through all the different sections of this place with someone - an old man to be exact… But that's just crazy! Why would I be travelling here with a total stranger?"  
Meanwhile, Sci Fi, who had been eavesdropping, gasped and turned her head away from the rest of her friends. She knew that there was something about Becca all along – she may have actually been Bethylasia this whole time and never even knew it!

After a few minutes, Becca took up an oar that was in the boat, and began pushing the water along with it. "Here we go!" she said with enthusiasm, "Off on another merry adventure!" She looked at Adventure with a big smile, and the beaver smiled back.  
Unknown to anyone, the sunny skies were turning dark, and several purple ghosts were travelling up in the air, looking for trouble. It wasn't long before they came to a scary-looking ship that had a black flag with a skull and crossbones. A ruthless pirate captain named Long John Silver looked up and saw the ghosts. "Well, if it ain't a message from that sea dragon in the Restricted section!" he beamed. The ghosts came down to see Silver and whispered something in his ear. "She is?" said the pirate captain, "Well, she'll be in for a big surprise!" He then laughed a wicked laugh as the ghosts floated away.

Back in their little rowboat, Becca and the animals kept happily sailing along when Sheila meowed a very frightened meow. "Sheila, what is it?" Becca asked the kitten. The girl looked up and was shocked by what she saw – dark clouds were forming high above in the sky! Just then, raindrops began to fall all around. "Oh no!" cried Becca, "We've got a storm coming!"  
"This can't be!" added Fantasy, "This whole rowboat's gonna fill up with water, and we're gonna sink!"  
"Or we could get caught in a massive wave and go down that way!" added Adventure.  
"Either way," said Mystery, "I don't like the sounds of those kinds of deaths!"  
"Me neither!" cried Becca.  
Suddenly, a large wave appeared and crashed down on top of the party's boat! Becca felt herself fall into the water, and held however much air in her mouth as she could hold. Since she couldn't see any of her friends anywhere, the poor girl had no choice but to swim to the surface and save herself! Upon reaching the surface, Becca swam over to a large piece of wood leftover from the broken boat and climbed onto it. "WHERE IS EVERYONE?!" she yelled. For a while, there was no answer; but then, a faint meow came into Becca's ears. She looked down and saw Sheila struggling for life in the water. Carefully, the girl pulled the kitten aboard and held her in her lap.

Then, two more figures gasped for air. One of them turned out to be Adventure, and the other one Sci Fi. "Adventure! Sci Fi!" Becca cried happily as she helped them onto the board, "You guys are okay!"  
"Of course we are!" coughed Sci Fi, "It's that damn wave and rainstorm that caused the trouble!"  
"Well, I've seen worse!" added Adventure. He then looked at a worried Becca and asked her, "What's wrong, lass?"  
"Where's Mystery? And Horror and Fantasy?" the girl asked.  
"Oh, I don't know," answered Sci Fi, "They may have…" she stopped speaking, because she could feel a lump in her throat.  
"They may have what?" Becca asked as her eyes became moist.  
Adventure removed the bandana from his head and said, "They may be sleeping with the fishes by now."  
Poor Becca knew what her friends meant, so she put her head above her knees and wrapped her arms around herself. Sheila meowed in sympathy as her human friend started crying. Sci Fi began to cry, too, because Fantasy was her best friend, and the marten secretly loved Mystery. Adventure put his paw on Sci Fi's shoulder for comfort while Becca looked up and said, "They can't be dead! They have to be out there somewhere!" She then called out, "MYSTERY! FANTASY! HORROR!"  
"Becca, honey, it's no use," comforted Sci Fi, "I'm sure they're all in a better place now. I'm sure… they're… happy now!" At the last sentence, Sci Fi tried to comfort her friend, but she couldn't – she had to continue crying.  
"Maybe someone will help us," said Becca as she calmed down a bit. Then she noticed a large ship in the distance; her face lit up as she cried, "Maybe these guys can help us!"  
Adventure also saw the ship and became nervous. "I don't know, lassie," he said as he put his bandana back on, "Just remember that not all sharks or killer whales are in the water!"  
"He's right," added Sci Fi, "There's something about this ship that I don't trust." And she was right. As the ship came closer, a familiar black flag with a skull and crossbones came into view on top of the mast.

On the pirate ship, two dark-skinned pirates climbed into a lifeboat, and then made their way down to see the lost friends. "Looks like we've got ourselves a mermaid and her animal friends!" said one pirate.  
"Those animals would do fine to become either snacks or fur hats," added the other one, "And the girl would make a fine present for our captain!" So the pirates rowed their boat to Becca and the animals, and then they snatched them!  
"Ugh, what are you guys doing?" Becca asked them with disgust.  
"You wanted help, didn't ye?" The first pirate asked, "Well, ye've come to the right place!"  
"Today's the captain's birthday, and we're going to Treasure Island to celebrate!" added the second pirate, "But first, we must present him his gifts!"  
"Gifts?!" scoffed Sci Fi, "What do you mean by 'gifts?'"  
"I think he means us," whispered Becca. The pirates then took their prisoners back to their ship, where the lifeboat was hauled up, and the poor girl and animals were given a not-so-warm welcome!

A ruthless pirate named Tom Morgan came up to the girl and said, "Well, look here! Looks like we have a beautiful sea flower. I think she'll make a great gift!"  
"Shhh!" shushed a fat pirate named George Merry, "Here comes the captain! We have to hide these sea-dogs!"  
The pirates all surrounded their prisoners as Captain Long John Silver, the infamous captain from _Treasure Island_ , approached his crew. "All right, ye sea dogs!" he boomed, "What are ye doin' now?"  
The pirates all jumped out of their circle and cried, "Surprise! Happy Birthday, Captain!"  
"We found these salties floatin' beside our boat," said one of the dark-skinned pirates, "And we thought that the animals would all make great snacks, and the girl would make an excellent gift for a man like you!"  
"I will NOT!" screamed Becca, "Let me and my friends go!"  
"Be silent!" ordered Tom Morgan, "Or else YE'LL be the one who will make a good snack!"  
"You heard the lost princess!" yelled Sci Fi, "You either let us go or die!" Suddenly, she put her paws over her mouth, not believing what she just blurted out! Becca looked at her in disbelief. "I'll explain later," whispered Sci Fi.  
Silver looked at the marten and said, "Oh, we have a feisty sea otter, eh?"  
"Awk! Sea otter!" repeated Silver's parrot that was perched on his shoulder. Sci Fi growled and tried to bite the captain on his finger. However, George Merry picked her up and squeezed her in the stomach, making her struggle to get free.

Adventure didn't say or do anything. He just stood beside Becca and Sheila as if to defend them. "And what have we here?" Silver asked the beaver.  
"What ye have," answered Adventure, "Is a quartet of toughies like you – only we're the ones who are gonna leave ye weepin' home to yer mothers!"  
The captain was about to kill the beaver when a voice came from the crow's nest. "LAND HO!" cried a pirate who was serving as lookout. All the pirates scrambled to the side of the deck and saw an island off in the distance; this wasn't just any island – it was the titular island from Robert Louis Stevenson's classic novel.  
"TREASURE ISLAND!" the pirates all cheered, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR CAPTAIN!"  
Long John Silver just smiled, because he knew that his birthday was going great so far!


	22. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21 - A Swashbuckling Fight and Letting Things Out**

When they reached the island, the pirates had their prisoners all tied in ropes. Poor Sheila, though, was locked in a little cage that was carried by Long John Silver. As the crew and their prisoners made their way around the island, they argued about which way to go in order to find a treasure chest. "I'd say we should take ten steps east, six steps north, and then four steps to the west!" suggested Tom Morgan.  
"So complicated!" argued one of the dark-skinned pirates, "Let's go south all the way!"  
"No," added George Merry, "I'd say we go three steps north, twelve steps east, and then…"  
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" shouted Silver.  
"Rawk! Enough!" repeated the parrot.  
Silver got out a map of instructions and said, "We're all going twenty steps west, three steps south, and then seven steps east!"  
"Men!" muttered Sci Fi, "They never ask for directions."  
"Sci Fi," whispered Becca, "Did you call me a princess on the ship?"  
The marten was about to answer when the pirates ordered her and the other prisoners to follow them towards the buried treasure sight.

After several steps, the pirate crew finally found a treasure chest! But when they opened it, they were shocked and surprised by the results – all the treasure was gone! "What's this?!" Long John Silver shouted angrily, "No treasure?"  
"Think again, boys!" shouted a familiar male voice from above.  
The pirates all became scared, and George Merry asked, "Who said that? Are ye a ghost?!"  
"No, but they don't call me Horror for nothing!" said another familiar voice. Becca and Sci Fi smiled when they heard what was going on; they knew now that their friends were around somewhere!  
Suddenly, a familiar woodchuck jumped down from a nearby palm tree, shouting, "SANCTUARY!" Horror kicked two pirates in the face, making some of their teeth fall out!  
"Horror!" Becca cried with excitement, "You're okay!"  
"Of course he's okay, honey!" came a familiar female voice. Fantasy jumped down from another palm tree, and landed on Tom Morgan's head! The pirate tried his best to capture the squirrel, but she got away and scurried to a coconut tree. Tom charged towards that tree, but Fantasy climbed up the trunk, making Tom whack himself in the head, and have coconuts fall and knock him out!

Becca watched in excitement as Mystery leaped from another palm tree, and then landed and bit a dark-skinned pirate on the head! "This will teach you a lesson or two!" remarked the fisher with a smirk. He then ran over to Becca and the other animals, and undid the ropes that held them together. "Fantasy, get the keys to that cage and free the kitten!" Mystery called to Fantasy.  
"Will do!" said Fantasy with a wink. She then went over to Long John Silver and undid his belt, making his pants fall down and exposing his underwear! The squirrel found a set of keys, and then went over to Sheila's cage, where she found the right one and freed the kitten. Sheila ran into Becca's arms, and the girl cuddled her, but not before Silver snatched the kitten again!  
"You and your friends leave me crew alone," threatened Silver, "Or ye'll never see your precious cat again!"  
Becca reached for a nearby sword and held it in front of the pirate captain. "No!" she shouted, "You and your crew should leave me and my friends alone!" Sci Fi and Mystery growled at Silver, while Adventure, Fantasy and Horror stood by with angry looks on their faces.  
"Be grateful that I'm not going through a certain time of the month," added Sci Fi with a deadly glare, "Or there will be blood shed!"  
Silver motioned for his crew to come close to him, while he gently put Sheila down. "All right, ye feisty mermaid," he said to Becca, "I'll let you and your friends go just this once. But next time I see ye, I will have victory!" The pirates all walked away from Becca and the animals before they went back on their ship and departed.

Becca put the sword down and said to her friends with a smile, "I did it! I actually defeated one of the meanest pirates in literature!"  
"Of course ye did!" added Adventure, "Ye just needed a little extra help!"  
Sci Fi looked at Mystery, Fantasy and Horror with a glare and asked, "So where did you guys go after the storm? Becca and I thought you were DEAD!"  
"Sci Fi, calm down and we'll explain everything!" Mystery said patiently.  
After Sci Fi took some deep breaths, Fantasy said, "Horror and I thought we were dead, too! But Mystery proved to be an excellent swimmer, and we swam all the way over here!"  
"You did?" Becca asked with astonishment.  
"Yep!" said Mystery, "Fishers are excellent swimmers, even though they don't eat fish!"  
"Speaking of which," said Horror with worry, "I think we should hurry along, because I don't wanna be a woodchuck forever!"  
"I doubt you will," said Sci Fi, "But you are right. The longer the curse is delayed, the more we books become animals. We'll start losing our human-like skills, and we'll resort more to the animals we have become!"  
Becca looked at her friends and said, "I guess so. But I'm so glad that Fantasy, Horror, and Mystery are okay! You guys are the only friends I've ever had in my life besides Nicole."  
All the animals became confused and looked at Becca. "Who is Nicole, honey?" asked Fantasy.  
Becca's smile dropped as she said, "I don't think you should know."  
"Oh, but we should!" said Horror, "Even if you don't wanna talk about it."  
Becca took a deep breath and said, "Okay. Well, Nicole was my best friend from the real world. Ever since seventh grade, we have been best friends. My dad said we were like 'peas in a pod.' She always listened to my stories I told, my adventures from my dreams, and a very special dream I had when I was seven." Sci Fi felt her stomach churn as Becca continued, "But then one day, things changed. I was on a hiking trip with Nicole and her parents, and she and I decided to go for a walk in the woods. Everything was going fine, but then a grizzly bear came and growled at us. We tried scaring it away, but it wouldn't budge. Then it began to attack, and I dropped to the ground and played dead. Nicole wasn't so lucky, though." The girl could feel sobs coming as she continued, "When the bear was gone, Nicole was so badly injured that I ran to her parents and told them what happened. We got the paramedics to take her to the emergency room, but she lost so much blood, that she…" Becca started crying at the last part. Horror walked up to her and nudged her with sympathy as he, too, began to cry.

All the other animals bowed their heads in sympathy, and Sci Fi thought to herself for a while. "Becca doesn't have to wait for her," she told herself, "Because Becca really is… Bethylasia. I know, because of what she said of dreams and travelling with an old man – the Pagemaster." She then gathered herself together, and motioned for her friends to leave Becca alone for a while. Sci Fi led the other animals to behind a bush and told them, "She's the real thing, did you know that?"  
"What are you talking about?" Fantasy asked her.  
"What I mean," said Sci Fi, "Is that Becca is really Bethylasia. Remember when she told us about travelling with an old man through Libralia? And remember when she told us about a special dream? I'm telling you that she is the lost princess!"  
"Why do you say that?" asked Horror.  
"Because I remember when we were there to help her and her grandfather when Malaria's curse was just starting!" replied Sci Fi.  
Adventure thought for a moment, and remembered the tragic day when Malaria killed the Pagemistress, and then turned the rest of the royal family (except Bethylasia and the Pagemaster) to stone. "Oh, now I remember!" he said with enthusiasm.  
Fantasy grinned and said, "Me too! In fact, I don't think we're far away from my section – and I hear that the Pagemaster is at some royal ball in a palace somewhere!"  
"He is? Oh, that reminds me!" said Mystery, picking up a nearby piece of paper. He showed it to everyone and said, "This piece of paper says that the Pagemaster is paying fifty million pieces of gold to anyone who returns Bethylasia to him!" Everyone glared at him as he smiled weakly.

Meanwhile, Becca finished crying and was taking some deep breaths to calm herself and continue with her journey. The animals came back to her and Sheila just as the girl was getting back on her feet. "Where to next?" asked Becca.  
"I think my section!" said Fantasy, "My wand feels like it's gaining a little more power. That means we're getting close to the World of Fantasy!"  
"Woo-hoo!" cheered Becca, "That must mean I'm one step closer to home!"  
"You sure are, sweetheart," said Sci Fi as she winked to herself, "You sure are!" So all the friends happily skipped along, making their way to the fantasy section.


	23. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22 - Whatever You Imagine**

Back in the restricted section, Malaria was moaning and groaning over her plan being ruined again! "No, no, no, NO!" the sorceress screamed as she smashed some nearby objects, "Why does that little brat have to win again?!"  
"Gee, I don't know," said Eddie with a worried face, "Maybe she's just trying to show off to her friends about how brave she thinks she is."  
"I don't think that's the answer," said Malaria as she calmed down a bit, "I think what's going on is that this girl is smarter than I thought she was. I might know what to do, but I'm not sure. I'd better talk to my necklace's spirit again and apologize!" So she waved her fingers over her necklace pendant and said, "Oh, spirit of my magic necklace, I ask you for forgiveness. I have misused your help, but I still seek your advice!"  
Just then, the ghost from her necklace appeared! "Oh, Malaria, you useless snail!" he insulted, "Why must you disturb me again?"  
"Please, great spirit," begged Malaria, "I apologize for screwing up again. I just want another answer!"  
"To what?" the spirit asked as he looked at wrinkles around Malaria's eyes.  
"I just want you to tell me how to kill Bethylasia!" Malaria cried.  
The ghost laughed and said, "YOU?! Needing help to kill someone?! If you could kill the Pagemistress easily, I don't see any difficulty in killing your cousin's youngest granddaughter!"  
Malaria grimaced and motioned for the ghost to look inside her crystal ball. An image of Becca and her friends coming to the fantasy section appeared and Malaria said, "Do you see this girl? She's smarter and stronger than I thought she was. She needs something that she fears the most – something very frightening!"

The spirit kept looking at Becca and recognized her. "I know her!" he said, "She's a common school girl from the real world who fears dangerous animals, especially ever since her best friend was killed by a grizzly bear!"  
"Grizzly bear, huh?" pondered Malaria, as she thought a bit, "Spirit, I need some advice on how to include a brown bear in the World of Fantasy."  
"I'm afraid you can't do that!" said the spirit, "But I can give you advice. However, this is the LAST time I'm helping you. Got that?"  
"Yes."  
"Very well," continued the ghost, "In order to kill this girl with a bear, you'll have to meet her in person, and then turn into a bear!"  
Malaria was dumbfounded. "That seems utterly impossible!" she argued, "I can't just appear out of nowhere and…"  
"That's the point!" said the ghost, "You have to wait until the right time to kill her. You wanted help, didn't you, so this is the advice I'm giving you. Good day!" With that, the ghost disappeared into thin air.

After the spirit left, Malaria told Eddie, "It's time to go! We're going to the fantasy section, and stay in hiding until the time is right!"  
"But your Excellency," protested Eddie, "What about the animal friends and the characters from fairy tales? Won't they see you and report you?"  
"Of course not!" insisted his mistress, "We'll change ourselves into an inanimate object, and we'll wait – just wait!" She then picked up a ball full of glitter, and then threw it on the ground while Eddie picked up his suitcase. Then the raven and sorceress disappeared under a cloud of glitter and smoke!

Meanwhile, in the World of Fantasy, Becca looked all around in amazement. She had never seen so many magical things in person; she only saw them in pictures within her favorite books. Fairies played among flowers, a pan played his panpipes, and sparkles appeared everywhere! As they travelled, a voice began to sing:

 _Whatever you imagine_  
 _Can one day come to be_  
 _There are dreams to awaken_  
 _Roads to be taken_  
 _Follow them and they will set you free!_

Becca saw Mother Goose fly through the sky on her gander, and waved to her. The nursey rhyme mistress waved back before some mice appeared beside Adventure. A fairy waved her wand, and the mice turned into horses, just like in _Cinderella_!

 _Whatever you imagine_  
 _Is where your heart can go_  
 _There are worlds filled with treasure_  
 _Time without measure_  
 _To learn whatever you may need to know!_

Becca saw the seven dwarfs climbing a far-off hill, and then she saw a cow jumping over the moon! She and Horror both laughed at the sight.

 _Imagine,_  
 _And you and I can fly past the sun_  
 _And leave all our doubts and fears behind us!_  
 _You'll see that's just what can happen_  
 _If you look inside your mind!_

Some sparkling pixies appeared, and landed in Becca's hands. They danced and performed a show for the girl as she smiled.

 _There's no limit to_  
 _The wonders you can find!_  
 _Whatever you imagine_  
 _Can make your life brand new_  
 _There are miracles waiting_  
 _So keep concentrating_  
 _And I promise that if you do_  
 _Whatever you imagine can come true!_  
 _(Whatever you imagine)_

The pixies then got mischievous and decided to take away Becca, Fantasy, Sci Fi and Mystery's glasses! "Hey!" Becca laughed, "Give me back my glasses!"  
Fantasy and Mystery happily played along, but Sci Fi got aggressive with the pixies and chased after them! "Clam down, Sci Fi, it's just a game!" giggled Fantasy.  
As everyone followed the pixies, Humpty Dumpty waved at the group, only to fall off his wall; Dorothy Gale followed a yellow brick road with her dog, Toto, the Scarecrow, the Tinman and the Lion; Alice followed the White Rabbit; and Rapunzel let her long, golden hair down out of her tower window.

 _Whatever you imagine_  
 _Can make your life brand new_  
 _There are miracles waiting_  
 _So keep concentrating_  
 _And I promise you_  
 _Whatever you imagine will come true!_

A few minutes later, the sky was getting dark. Becca and her friends caught up with the mischievous pixies and retrieved the glasses. After placing her own glasses back on, Becca looked off in the distance and saw a grand palace, along with some fireworks being shot in the sky. "Looks like a grand party is going on there!" she gasped.  
"Not just any party," said Fantasy, "That's the Pagemaster's annual party to celebrate the day he was coroneted as the ruler of Libralia!"  
"You know what?" Becca said with a sad smile, "I think I'm ready to go home. I should tell the Pagemaster that I've done my part of the quest, and Bethylasia can do the rest."  
"Are you sure?" Sci Fi asked with concern, "You could check us out in the real world, or go to that party."  
Becca thought for a moment and said, "I don't think that party would be too bad. Maybe I could spend a little extra time here and go to a grand ball for the first time?" She was just about to run to the castle, but Fantasy stopped her.  
"Wait a minute, honey!" said the squirrel, "You can't go dressed like some peasant! Remember when I said I was the one who helped Cinderella? Well, we may not have a pumpkin or mice, but I can certainly change your appearance a bit."  
Becca smiled a big smile and said, "That would be wonderful!"  
"Okay, now what's your favorite color?" asked Fantasy.  
"Hmmmm," said Becca, "I kinda like dark colors – such as purple or indigo!"  
"I choose purple," said Fantasy, "Now, close your eyes, honey! And don't open them till I tell you!" Becca happily closed her eyes and Fantasy gently touched the girl with her wand.

In a matter of seconds, gold sparkles flew all around the girl, and slowly, Becca's appearance transformed into something else – her hair was done in a bun, a white tiara appeared on her head, and she donned a purple gown with golden sparkles at the hem of her skirt, white elbow-length gloves, a black choker with a pearl in the center, and a pair of flat shoes made out of onyx! "Okay, Becca, you may open your eyes now!" said Fantasy.  
Becca looked down and gasped. "It's a gorgeous dress!" she beamed, "In fact, it's the most beautiful dress I've ever worn – or seen in my life!"  
Fantasy smiled and said, "I'm glad you like it. But I think you should have a few chaperones to take you to the ball."  
"What are ye talking about?" Adventure asked with a raised brow.  
"Close your eyes, and I'll show you!" said Fantasy. All the other animals (except Sheila) closed their eyes, and Fantasy touched each of her friends with her wand before using the wand on herself.

In just a few minutes, the animals all became humans. Fantasy turned into an African American woman with magenta-dyed hair tied in a large bun and lavender eyes; she wore a lavender dress with puffy sleeves, pink motifs on her bodice and skirt, a pearl necklace and matching earrings, and hot pink wrist gloves. Adventure turned into a man with light skin, brown hair with a matching mustache, and brown eyes; he wore a white dress shirt, a black captain's jacket with a matching cravat, breeches and a tri-pointed hat with a white feather, gold epaulets, a gray vest, white gloves with a matching belt and stockings, and black shoes with gold buckles. Horror turned into a man with light skin and blue hair while keeping his heterochromia; he wore a white shirt with a matching vest and stockings, a light blue cravat, a blue and black jacket, black trousers, and gray shoes with gold buckles. Science Fiction turned into a woman with light skin, while keeping her black hair and brown eyes; she wore a silver Russian-style court gown with long, split sleeves, a red sash, white gloves, a pearl necklace, diamond earrings, and a silver tiara. Mystery turned into a man with light skin while keeping his mahogany hair and green eyes; he wore a white dress shirt with a matching vest, a black and white jacket with gold epaulets, a gold and white belt, gray slacks, and black boots.  
Becca looked at her friends with a speechless look and said, "Wow! You guys look amazing!"  
Everyone opened their eyes and looked at each other with amazement, complimenting on how gorgeous they looked. Horror's voice had also changed into that of a handsome man's, asking, "Are we ready for the ball, mistress?"  
Becca smiled and replied, "I think so. Come on, Sheila." The little kitten hopped into her mistress's arms, and everyone walked towards the palace.


	24. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23: At the Ball**

A few minutes later, Becca and her friends made it to the entrance of the palace. "Oh, Becca, I forgot to tell you!" said Fantasy, "My magic only works until the last stroke of midnight."  
"Like in _Cinderella_?" asked Becca.  
"Mm-hmm," said Fantasy. She looked at Sheila and added, "I also think it would be best for your kitty to stay outside and not get into trouble."  
The girl looked at her kitten and said, "Okay. I think it's for the best that you stay out here, Sheila. Just don't wander away too far." With that, she set Sheila down in a little flower bed to play in.

Upon entering the palace, all the guests stopped what they were doing and looked at Becca. They were amazed by her beautiful gown, and they whispered questions like, "Who is she?"  
"Where did she come from?"  
"Do you suppose she is a princess?"  
"Is she the lost princess?"  
Sci Fi saw what was going on and whispered to Becca, "Just ignore them. You're doing fine!" Becca continued walking, and everyone became more confident about her.  
Mystery then pointed to a golden balcony above the ballroom and whispered, "There he is! The Pagemaster!"  
Becca looked up and saw the old wizard happily looking down at his grand ball. "I hope he'll listen to me," the girl prayed.

Just then, the music conductor played some music. Everyone in the ballroom gathered around, picked partners, and began to dance. "I think we should be dancing," said Fantasy, who teamed up with Adventure. "How would you like to get hooked on a good book?" she asked him. Adventure only blushed deep red.  
Mystery looked at Sci Fi, gently took her hand, and asked, "May I have this dance?"  
Sci Fi smiled and said, "Of course!"  
While the two pairs danced, Becca looked at Horror and asked, "Would you like to dance with me?"  
Horror couldn't believe his ears! "Dance?" he asked nervously, "With you?"  
Becca smiled and took Horror's hand. "Here, I'll help you," she said convincingly. She put his left hand behind her waist and his right hand into her left hand. Becca began to dance slowly, and Horror picked up on the steps; then he decided to take the lead.  
Sci Fi looked over her shoulder and saw Becca dancing with Horror. "Look at that," she said to Mystery with a smile, "It's _Beauty and the Beast_!" Mystery chuckled and beamed when he saw the two.

At around eleven o'clock, the dancing ended, and everyone went about at engaging in conversations, drinking wine, and enjoying little hors d'oeuvres at the refreshment table. Sci Fi walked up to Becca and gently put her hand on the teen girl's shoulder before asking, "Are you ready?"  
"For what?" Becca asked.  
"You know, to meet the Pagemaster and tell him that Bethylasia can finish breaking the curse!"  
"Oh yeah," Becca remembered, "I think so."  
Sci Fi then motioned for Adventure, Fantasy, Horror and Mystery to gather around and follow her. Everyone went up a grand staircase, and came to a set of large, red doors. "Sci Fi," said Fantasy, "I don't think that meeting the Pagemaster will be easy."  
"What do you mean?" asked Sci Fi with a raised brow.  
"Well, the Pagemaster probably doesn't wanna see just any girl right now," remarked Fantasy, "I think he just wants to see his granddaughter herself!"  
Sci Fi whispered to Fantasy in an annoyed tone, "Don't you remember? Becca IS Bethylasia! The Pagemaster will have to see her!" Science Fiction walked over to Becca and told her, "I'll tell you what – Mystery and I will go behind those doors and make the Pagemaster think you're Bethylasia, that way, he can talk to you easily!"  
"Guys, whatever you're planning sounds like it won't work," said Becca. She sighed and continued, "I've met this guy before, and he seems like a nice man."  
"He is," said Mystery, "But I promise – we won't let you down. We'll make sure you get back to your own world, and we'll find the lost princess on our own!"  
"And you can also check us out, too!" added Horror.  
Becca thought for a moment and then nodded. "Alright," she said, "But I hope we get this over with soon. My parents are probably calling the cops by now!"  
Sci Fi gently shushed her and coaxed, "Don't worry. Your parents will be fine. Mystery and I will just try to talk to the Pagemaster, and everything will work out." The girl smiled a small and sad smile as Sci Fi and Mystery prepared to go behind the red doors. The others just stayed behind.

Mystery and Sci Fi knocked on one of the doors, opened it, and then went in. But instead of closing the door all the way, they left it open a small crack. Mystery cleared his throat and announced, "We would like to announce to the Pagemaster that we have found his long-lost granddaughter, Princess Bethylasia! She is waiting outside the door to speak to him."  
A servant walked up to the couple and said with an apologetic tone, "I'm sorry, you two, but the Pagemaster will not see anyone."  
"What?" Sci Fi said with shock.  
The Pagemaster, who was sitting in his balcony, angrily called the servant, "You can tell that impertinent couple that I've seen enough Princess Bethylasias to last me an eternity!" Over the past several years, The Pagemaster offered a huge reward to anyone who could find Bethylasia and bring her to him to end Malaria's curse. However, all the hundreds of people who brought the "princess" were really con artists who searched far and wide for Bethylasia imposters. The wizard believed that Mystery and Sci Fi were another couple of con artists looking for money, and refused to see them.

Meanwhile, the servant wearily told the couple, "I think you two should go."  
Mystery started, "But you see…"  
"Now if you'll excuse me," interrupted the Pagemaster, "I wish to continue waiting for my real granddaughter to destroy my cousin's curse in peace!"  
Sci Fi tried to say something, but the servant reluctantly took her hand and Mystery's while saying, "Come now, off you go! To the exit, please!"  
Mystery motioned for Sci Fi to hide behind some curtains for a while. Then the two of them snuck out and approached the Pagemaster. "Pagemaster, please," said Mystery, "We intend you no harm. It's us – Mystery and Sci Fi, two of your book servants!"  
"Nonsense!" scoffed the Pagemaster, "Malaria turned all my servants into animals, not humans!"  
"But Fantasy used some of her magic to change us!" protested Sci Fi.  
"Fantasy or not," remarked the Pagemaster, "I'd say you're still imposing!"  
As the wizard got up from his chair, Mystery cried, "Wait! Don't go! If you'll just listen to us, please!"  
"Haven't you two been listening?" the Pagemaster shot at them angrily, "I've had enough with my granddaughter for now! I don't care how much you two have fashioned this girl to look like her, sound like her, or even behave like her! In the end, it never is her!"

On the other side of the doors, Becca held her ear up to eavesdrop when she heard the shouting. When she heard the Pagemaster talking, the girl gave a look of shock and anger.  
Back at the balcony, Sci Fi pleaded to the Pagemaster, "This time, she's the real thing!"  
"Cut the balderdash, already!" said the Pagemaster, "I know people like you. You're just another couple of con artists who train these teenage girls in royal ways until you find the perfect Bethylasia imposter!"  
Becca gasped when she heard this on the other side.  
At the balcony, Mystery pleaded, "But sir, this girl has come all this way from the real world just to see you!"  
"And others have come from as far as Middle Earth," remarked the wizard.  
"But, Pagemaster!" Sci Fi protested, "Mystery and I promise we won't bother you anymore. We just want you to understand!"  
When she put her hands onto his hand, the Pagemaster asked her angrily, "Just what good is there for you two to waste your time troubling an old wizard for money?"  
Becca gasped again when she heard that part on the other side.  
Meanwhile, the Pagemaster snapped his fingers for two of his guards and ordered them, "Remove these two at once!"  
Each guard took Mystery and Sci Fi away while Mystery pleaded, "But we're telling you – she's the real Bethylasia!"  
"Yeah!" added Sci Fi, "She's the actual princess – if you'll just listen for a minute!"  
The guards then dropped the couple outside the door by Becca as they walked away.

Mystery and Sci Fi got back on their feet, and became surprised when they saw the teen girl glaring at them. Fantasy, Horror, and Adventure, who had gone off to get more wine, approached the three and also became surprised when they saw Becca. "Honey, are you okay?" Fantasy asked with concern.  
"No, I am not okay," Becca said under her breath, "Because I know now… that all of you were hiding something from me this whole time, weren't you?"  
Sci Fi gave a look of shock and asked, "What are you talking about?"  
"Come on!" Becca said, "You guys USED me? I wasn't really a customer, or a kingdom's savior. I was just part of your guys' little con to get his money, wasn't I?"  
"Becca, please!" said Mystery, "What you heard back there was a misunderstanding. None of us would EVER use you as a part of anything, because you know what? Sci Fi says that you are really Bethylasia – you are!"  
"STOP IT!" Becca shot at her friends angrily, "Stop it, all of you! Ever since I first came here, you guys lied to me! I can't believe I was so stupid and naïve to not only believe all of you, but actually think that…. Ugh! Never mind what I thought!"  
As the girl walked away furiously, Sci Fi stopped her and said, "Becca, wait! Remember when you spoke about running away through this place with an old man? And about a certain dream? Listen, that…"  
"NO!" the girl furiously shouted, "I don't wanna be reminded about ANYTHING I recalled or dreamt about! So all of you traffickers should just leave me alone!" Sci Fi put her hand on Becca's shoulder, but the latter half turned around and smacked her in the face!  
"And we thought she would be so happy to get home," said Fantasy with a sad look as the girl walked away. But then she frowned and told Sci Fi and Mystery, "But you two just had to do it, didn't you?! Now look what's happened!" She pointed to Becca storming down the stairs, past a crowd of surprised onlookers, and out the palace doors.


	25. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24 - The Biggest Challenge Yet**

Becca soon found Sheila in the flower bed, picked her up, and then ran away to a nearby forest. The clock in the tower near the palace began to chime twelve, and Becca angrily stood tall and let the spell break; her ball gown transformed back into her school clothes, her choker turned back into her book necklace, and her onyx flats turned back into her clogs. Her tiara also disappeared and her hair also turned from a bun into a low ponytail.

Once the transformation was complete, Becca felt warm moist in her eyes as she dropped to her knees and laid face-down on the ground near a little pond. Sheila just sat in sympathy as she watched Becca cry. The girl lifted her head and sobbed, "I can't do this! I can't help break this curse! Who said I was actually Bethylasia? No one! That's why I can't do it!" As she kept on sobbing, a white light shone above the pond. The light flashed a little bit, and the spirit of a woman appeared. Becca looked up with tears in her eyes and saw the woman; the girl was surprised as she asked with a lump in her throat, "Who are you? And what do you want?"  
"Do not be afraid, my dear," the woman gently told her, "I am the Pagemistress, the Pagemaster's late wife."  
Becca looked at her in confusion. Had she heard the word "Pagemistress" before? "What happened to you?" the girl asked.  
"I risked my life to save my family," the Pagemistress told her, "My husband's evil cousin wanted revenge on him, so she stopped my heart and turned my son and his family to stone. The only people to make it out of the coup were the Pagemaster and my youngest granddaughter, Bethylasia."  
"Yeah, I know," Becca said with slight irritation, "The Pagemaster told me that. But he didn't tell me that I would be part of some con!"  
The Pagemistress gently shushed Becca and told her, "Calm down, dear. You know, none of his servants were actually using you. In fact, they never even wanted money to begin with!"  
"They didn't?" Becca asked, feeling guilty for getting angry at her friends for no reason, "But I heard…"  
"What you heard was a misunderstanding," the woman spirit continued, "My widower is just feeling so stressed at already seeing many other girls claiming to be the princess. In fact, here he comes now!" She pointed to something behind Becca.

What Becca saw was the Pagemaster, who had witnessed the people he argued with transform back into animals at midnight back at the palace. "My dear Pagemistress!" he exclaimed when he saw the spirit, "What are you doing here? I thought you were dead!"  
"I am," said the Pagemistress, "But the magic of imagination and literature, along with your heart, keep me alive. This poor girl has clearly been through a lot, and I just came over to comfort her."  
The Pagemaster touched Becca's shoulder and said, "My dear child, I misunderstood your friends. They were trying to help me, but I thought I was being conned again. I see you'd like to speak to me."  
"Yes," Becca said as she wiped the last of her tears away, "I want you to know that I'm through with this quest, and I want to go home!"  
"But you haven't faced your last challenge yet," said the Pagemaster, "Your last challenge in this section involves finding out who you really are. Look at the charm around your neck." As Becca looked at her necklace, the Pagemistress sang a song:

 _I have crossed the horizon to find you_  
 _I know your name_  
 _You have lost the heart from inside you_  
 _But this does not define you_  
 _This is not who you are_  
 _You know who you are._

Becca looked carefully at her necklace pendant, and sudden images came to her mind – the picture of the youngest girl in the rotunda, a birthday party, a royal family, opening up a book, and travelling through Libralia with an old man (who was the Pagemaster).

Suddenly, Becca's eyes widened as she finally figured out her challenge's solution! "I'm living a double life!" she told the Pagemaster and Pagemistress, "In the real world, my name is Becca Ridges – an ordinary school girl who's constantly being bullied. But I've known this place far longer than I've thought. In this world… I am Bethylasia. None of the animals were lying, after all! I am Bethylasia!"  
"Of course you are!" beamed the Pagemaster, "I knew it all along. But you had to prove yourself worthy of a brave princess in order to come all this way to see me again – not to mention, your grandmother's spirit, also!" And with those words, Becca, whom we now know as Bethylasia, embraced the Pagemaster with a tight hug as she cried tears of happiness. The Pagemistress also hugged her husband and granddaughter for a few minutes before she disappeared completely. Sheila meowed a happy meow while off in the distance, a quintet of certain book-turned animals watched with happiness.

Author's Note: The song "Know Who You Are" is from the movie Moana. ((c) Disney)


	26. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25 - Keys to the Past**

Meanwhile, in a heavily dark and forested area of the fantasy section, a certain evil sorceress and her raven were plotting something. "Eddie, I think it's finally happened!" Malaria said with an evil grin, "I think Bethylasia has finally been found!"  
"Oh boy, that's great!" beamed Eddie, "Now what?"  
"We just wait until the right time," said Malaria, "I can sense that there may be a party coming real soon!"  
"A party?" cried Eddie as he grabbed a party hat and put it on his head, "I just LOVE parties! Especially the kind where you get to show off your dancing skills – I could show you the latest dance moves, and…"  
"It will be a grand and wonderful party," continued Malaria with a smirk, "Bethylasia will have her moment."  
"Who cares about the princess?" said Eddie as he danced the Bossa-Nova.  
"And then, I will frighten her with her greatest fear and kill her!" finished the sorceress.  
"Okay, then – kill her?!" cried Eddie as he stopped dancing and his party hat fell off, "But your Excellency, why? What about the party?"  
"That's the place I'm choosing to kill the little brat," laughed Malaria, "I'll transform into what killed her friend, and then I will finish her off!"  
"But why not just forget about her and your cousin and get a life?" asked Eddie with concern.  
"Oh, not to worry, I'll get a life," said Malaria before laughing, "HER'S! Not to mention the lives of her little animal friends and her grandfather!" The evil sorceress then went back to work looking at her spell book for more evil magic.

In the meantime, after being comforted by the Pagemaster, Bethylasia was ready to go back to the palace. But then she noticed the book animals and stopped. "Um, Grandfather," she said, "I need to talk to these guys for a moment."  
The old wizard nodded and let his granddaughter get down on her knees. The book animals gave her sad looks, and Sci Fi said, "Sweetheart, we're so sorry we let you down."  
"No," said Bethylasia, "I'm the one who should be sorry. I shouldn't have eavesdropped, I shouldn't have gotten angry, and I shouldn't have hit you in the face, Sci Fi. I'm so sorry for everything!" She then embraced all her friends in a big group hug.  
Sci Fi nuzzled Bethylasia's cheek while shedding a tear and said, "Bec-er, Bethylasia, nothing was your fault. Mystery and I were just trying to help you, but the Pagemaster misunderstood what was going on."  
"She's right, honey," said Fantasy, "And we never wanted any kind of reward. The only thing that matters to us is helping you help us break this curse."  
"Aye," said Adventure, "The sooner you break this curse, the better. But for now, I think ye should spend time with yer long-lost grandfather and remember all the happy times before anything bad happened."  
The Pagemaster then put his hand on Bethylasia's shoulder, indicating that they should get moving. "I'd say that I think we're all even now," the girl said with a small smile.  
"Of course," said Mystery, "You can't stay mad at your closest friends forever, you know."  
"Good luck, sweetheart," said Sci Fi, "And remember that we're all here to help you if you need it!"  
Bethylasia got up and walked with her grandfather while looking back at her friends. The animals all smiled at her before they decided to go their own ways back to the palace.

Back at the palace, the Pagemaster showed Bethylasia a secret room in the cellar. Inside, there were the stone bodies of the royal family all huddled together. Since that dreadful incident, the Pagemaster had ordered his servants to keep the stone family in that very room to rest in peace until the lost princess could return and break Malaria's curse. Bethylasia sighed and said sadly, "I remember now. It was an awful day when your cousin killed Grandmother and turned the others into stone."  
"Yes," said the Pagemaster, "But tomorrow night, we shall have a bittersweet celebration. We will remember your fallen family, but we will also celebrate your return until you decide to end my cousin's evil curse once and for all!"  
Bethylasia smiled a little bit as she then noticed a dusty chest. "Grandfather, do you know what's in here?" she asked. The Pagemaster just smiled and used some of his magic to open the chest. Inside, there were old pictures of the royal family, along with some of the children's most prized possessions. "Oh, all my drawings!" Bethylasia cried as she searched through pieces of paper with drawings on them. She held up one of them depicting the palace chef and laughed, "This one's my favorite! I remember when I showed it to everybody, and Donovan made me so mad! He said it looked like a horse vomiting out spaghetti! He was right."  
The Pagemaster laughed and said, "When I hear your laughter, I hear my wife laughing." He then reached into the chest and pulled out the book he gave to Bethylasia on her seventh birthday.  
The girl gasped and said, "Hey! I think I know how to open this!" She took off her necklace, inserted the book charm into the keyhole, turned it to the left, and the book unlocked! Bethylasia opened it up and saw pieces of the past on pages. "This was your book of secrets and events, wasn't it, Grandfather?" she said. The Pagemaster nodded as Bethylasia turned a few pages and saw a picture of her and her grandfather reminiscing happy memories.  
"Just watching you smile reminds me of your father," said the Pagemaster, "Crown Prince Matthias. If he saw you right now, he would be beyond delighted." The wizard then reached into the chest and took out a jeweled box. After blowing the dust off a bit, he opened it and revealed a golden tiara with a red ruby in the center. "Do you know what else you inherit?" he asked his granddaughter, "You inherit the beauty and intelligence of your mother, Natalia, Crown Princess of Libralia!"

The Pagemaster placed the tiara on top of Bethylasia's head, and the girl looked at herself in a nearby mirror. She was surprised and delighted when she saw her reflection. We then cut away to the next morning when Bethylasia was in her bedroom, looking at herself in the mirror again. This time, she still had the tiara, but she also had her hair done in a high bun, and wore a silvery white gown with a halter neckline, long, white gloves, a deep red sash going across her chest and around her waist, diamond earrings, a gold necklace with a shiny pendant, and white high heels with bows on them. Bethylasia smiled as she turned around and admired her new dress, while Fantasy and Sci Fi looked on in awe.


	27. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26 - Longing Desires**

Later that morning, all the book animals gathered with the Pagemaster in his throne room. "If you wish," said the Pagemaster, "I will reward you with fifty million pieces of gold for returning my granddaughter."  
The animals all looked at each other with thoughtful faces until Sci Fi spoke up. "That's a very nice offer," she said, "But I'm afraid we can't accept any pieces of gold. After all, we are your loyal servants, and we already serve you well within our respective sections."  
"I agree," said Mystery, "I think only your gratitude is a big enough reward."  
The Pagemaster looked at his servants in a puzzled way before he asked, "You mean you've come all this way with my lost granddaughter, and you want nothing? Surely there is something I can give to repay all of you in helping Bethylasia?"  
"Unfortunately, no, sir," said Fantasy, "We've done all we could, and I think it's time for Becca, I mean, Bethylasia to continue living the life she has been missing."  
"Wouldn't you all at least care to attend the ball tonight?" the Pagemaster asked.  
"A ball?" inquired Horror, "What kind of ball is it, my Pagemaster?"  
The old wizard smiled and said, "It will be a bittersweet occasion. We will remember my family and wife who fell at the hands of Malaria, but we will also celebrate the return of my granddaughter, who can break the curse!"  
"Well if it involves celebrating our heroine," said Sci Fi with a small smile, "I guess my pals and I will come. Too bad we won't be checked out by Becca." The marten sighed sadly before telling her friends, "I think we should go now." So all the animals bowed to the Pagemaster, and his dismissed them. When they all left, the Pagemaster thought about something.

Meanwhile, Bethylasia was outside the palace, wandering in the garden with Sheila. The kitten now had a big pink bow around her neck, along with a tiny pearl tiara on her head. When the princess and her pet reached a water fountain, Bethylasia sat down at the edge of the fountain, and Sheila joined her. When the kitten saw her reflection in the water, she shook her head, causing her tiara to fall off into Bethylasia's lap. The girl picked up the tiara and looked at it with a thoughtful look. "You know what, Sheila?" said the princess, "I know I should be happy here and feel honored to have a royal family that I'm going to save. But I'm not sure if this is where I really belong. In fact, I'm not even sure if I should stay a princess for the rest of my life! It's not that I'm next in line for the throne – my imaginary father and Alexander are – but even if I was, I know nothing of ruling a kingdom!" She sighed and looked at her reflection in the fountain's pool before singing:

 _Look at me,_  
 _I will never pass for a perfect girl,_  
 _Or a perfect princess_  
 _Can it be?_  
 _I'm not meant to play this part?_

Bethylasia got up from the fountain and began walking among a path lined with roses, lilacs and delphiniums while wondering if she should stay a princess or return to the real world and be whom she really was.

 _Now I see_  
 _That if I were truly to be myself,_  
 _I would break the family's hearts!_

The princess and her kitten made it to a koi pond near a labyrinth, and Bethylasia looked down at her reflection in the water while watching the fish swim to and fro.

 _Who is that girl I see_  
 _Staring straight back at me?_  
 _Why is my reflection someone I don't know?_  
 _Somehow I cannot hide_  
 _Who I am, though I've tried!_  
 _When will my reflection show_  
 _Who I am inside?_

Bethylasia turned her head away from the pond, and then picked a peony from a nearby bush before finishing:

 _When will my reflection show_  
 _Who I am inside?_

Bethylasia picked up Sheila, and then made her way back to the palace while thinking about her song.

Author's Note: The song "Reflection" is from Disney's Mulan ((c) Disney)


	28. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27 - The Final Conflict**

Later that evening inside the palace, the book animals were busy getting ready for the ball that was to take place soon. Adventure, Horror and Mystery all had black bowties around their necks, while Fantasy and Sci Fi each wore a white ribbon around their necks. Fantasy happily hummed a tune while brushing her tail in the mirror, but Sci Fi just looked very glum as she combed her fur. "Sci Fi, what's wrong?" asked Fantasy with concern when she saw her friend, "You tell your best friend about it."  
Sci Fi sighed and said, "We're never going home with that girl."  
"Who, Bethylasia?" asked Fantasy.  
"That's her name in this world," remarked Sci Fi, "But in the real world, she's Becca – the person I know best."  
Mystery came over to Sci Fi and comforted her by saying, "Come now, Sci Fi. You should be happy for the princess! After all, she's found out her identity, and she's found the courage to take Malaria down when the time is right! Besides, would you rather be checked out from the real world's library as a marten, or as a book?"  
Sci Fi chuckled a bit and said, "A guess as a book." Then she thought for a moment and said, "I suppose you're right, Mystery. Bethylasia should at least spend a little time with her family when the curse breaks!"  
"Now that's the fearless and confident friend I know!" laughed Fantasy as she embraced her friend with a hug.  
Adventure heard some music from outside the dressing room, and said, "I think it's time we get out and start celebrating on the main deck!" Everyone else agreed, and followed the beaver.

Out in the main ballroom, people were dancing, talking, laughing, and enjoying refreshments in honor of the princess's return. Just then, a chamberlain blew a horn and announced, "Ladies and gentlemen! Let me be the first to present the Pagemaster and his long-lost granddaughter, Princess Bethylasia!" The Pagemaster and Bethylasia entered the room, while Sheila tagged along at her mistress's feet. Everyone cheered and bowed to their rulers before they went back to dancing and socializing.  
The Pagemaster and Bethylasia sat down at their thrones and watched all the guests happily enjoy themselves as the wizard told his granddaughter, "Look around you, my child. You were brought into this world of high society, sparkling jewels, and all of the world's greatest literature. But I wonder if this is truly enough for you?"  
Bethylasia took Sheila into her lap and looked at her grandfather, saying, "I guess so. But I miss my life back in the real world when I was Becca. I miss my real parents Tasha and Mark just about as much as I miss my parents in this world."  
The Pagemaster could see his granddaughter's eyes get moist, and he gently held her hands as he coaxed, "Bethylasia, I can tell that you're homesick. But I need you right now, because my cousin's curse is growing immensely. However, when you defeat Malaria, you may think about which family you would like to live in for the rest of your life. But no matter what you choose in the end, we will always have each other – as Becca Ridges, you can still dream about me and the rest of your family and friends here in Libralia, and we will all be there for you." The wizard then got up from his chair to check on his guests. Bethylasia turned around and thought about her grandfather's advice for a moment. She was about to say something to him, but he was already gone when she looked up.

The princess then decided to join in the dancing when she heard some meowing outside. Somehow, Sheila had run away from her, and was outside! "Sheila?" Bethylasia called softly. She looked straight on, and saw a faint figure at the edge of the doorway to the gardens. Sheila was out there! So Bethylasia picked up her skirt and walked quickly over to the doorway while quietly calling, "Sheila, what are you doing out there?" By the time the princess got outside, Sheila was already scurrying down some steps to the garden. "Sheila, come back here!" Bethylasia softly called again; but the kitten had disappeared into the labyrinth. The girl had no choice but to follow Sheila in the maze. "Sheila, where are you?" Bethylasia called as she ran, "Sheila?" Unknown to her, the labyrinth made some thorny branches that closed behind her, and a topiary of a lion was given glowing, red eyes!

Back at the ball, the book animals were at the refreshments table enjoying some snacks when Fantasy became a little concerned. "Has anyone seen Bethylasia lately?" she asked the other books.  
Mystery finished eating a chocolate brownie and replied, "Um, the last time I saw her, she was going outside for something."  
"I thought I heard some meowing from her kitty," said Horror.  
Sci Fi gave a look of fear and said, "You know what? I think she's in serious trouble! I have a gut feeling." She then turned to her friends and gave a serious expression before she said, "We need to go out and help her – NOW!" The other animals stopped what they were doing and nodded at the marten.

Meanwhile, in the labyrinth, Bethylasia was getting worried about Sheila. The kitten kept running away and meowing, and the princess kept following her. "Sh-Sheila?" called Bethylasia, "Here, girl!" Another set of thorns blocked the part where Bethylasia went through, and the princess turned around and gasped in fright. When she turned back around, she saw Sheila sitting by some bushes and meowing with fear. "There you are!" Bethylasia said as she embraced her kitten.  
Just then, a voice called, "Bethylasia!" The girl got up from her knees and gasped as the voice kept repeating her name. Suddenly, some purple smoke appeared from behind the princess, making her cough and run towards an open entrance in the labyrinth; however, Bethylasia tripped over a rock and fell face-down on the ground, knocking her glasses off her face! But she got back on her feet, put her glasses back on, and dusted herself off. When she looked forward, Bethylasia found herself in a meadow and was shocked by what she saw – an evil-looking woman in a purple and black dress smirking at her – Malaria! "Bethylasia," said Malaria, "Your royal highness! So much has happened within the past ten years in this kingdom. You have grown from a scrawny blossom to a beautiful young rose, and my curse has grown into an apocalypse for literature and happiness!"  
Bethylasia studied Malaria's facial features with fright and gasped, "I know that face!"  
Malaria chuckled, "Yes. Do you remember seeing it at a celebration like this one?"  
"My seventh birthday," the princess remembered.  
"Followed by a tragic day for your grandmother and the rest of your family!" finished Malaria, "Remember, Bethylasia!" She then put her hands in the air, and pointed at the ground, creating a purple atmosphere all around the meadow.

The princess immediately recognized who this woman was now. "Why, you're Malaria!" Bethylasia gasped with fright.  
"Of course," Malaria chuckled before she snapped, "Your grandfather's cousin who was turned down when it came time to rule Libralia! But you know what they say, 'what goes around comes around!'" She then summoned some of her ghost minions out of her necklace pendant and told them, "Why don't we humiliate this girl a little bit, boys?"  
"Yes, ma'am!" saluted the ghosts. They then floated their way towards Bethylasia and laughed at her. All the poor girl could do was stand in terror as the ghosts began to push her around, yank her tiara from her head, and pull her necklace off from her neck.  
Eddie, who was watching the scene from a high branch in a leafless tree, called to Malaria, "Your excellency, I think this is going too far! Maybe you shouldn't be so cruel to this girl. She hasn't done anything wrong to you!"  
"SHUT UP, YOU OVERSIZED CROW!" Malaria snapped from down below.  
Meanwhile, Bethylasia tried to escape the ghosts, but one of them caught her hair and sneered, "Where are you going, princess?"  
"Yeah!" laughed another ghost, "The party's just starting!" Bethylasia's hair came undone as the ghosts continued harassing her; this time, they started tearing her dress in a very cruel fashion.  
One ghost ripped the girl's sash from her waist when Malaria ordered, "Alright, my phantom friends! I think that's enough. We shouldn't do too much more tearing, or she'll be a nymph!"  
The ghosts all disappeared as Bethylasia sneered at Malaria, "I'm not scared of you, you heartless fiend!"  
"Oh, I can fix that!" said Malaria with an evil grin, "Care to meet an old friend? One who murdered your best friend?" She then waved her hand over her necklace pendant and slowly transformed into a monstrous grizzly bear.

Bethylasia watched in terror as she recognized the scary animal from the terrible day when she lost her best friend in the real world. Malaria, who was now a grizzly bear, stood on her hind legs and gave a big roar before going back on all fours and asking the princess, "Remember me now?"  
Bethylasia was speechless. "You mean you were the one who…" she started.  
"Yes!" said Malaria, "I was there. I travel in the real world quite a bit, where I take many forms when you least expect me around! That day, I was a bear who was enjoying a freshly killed deer, when I saw you and your little friend disturbing my peace! I smelled you, and I immediately recognized you as the one who escaped your family's coup! I wanted to charge at you, but you played dead and I had no other choice but to take someone else that you cared for most!"  
"Why?!" Bethylasia shouted angrily, "Why didn't you just take me?"  
"Because my bear instincts were immediately kicking in," replied Malaria, "And when I saw you playing dead, I knew this wasn't a good time to get rid of you. So someone else had to die and make you suffer for the loss! But enough with memories of your friend; now it's time to take you down once and for all! That way, I will be able to destroy literature once and for all!"  
"Think again, sweetheart!" shouted a tough female voice.  
"This is mutiny!" cried a familiar pirate's voice.  
"SANCTUARY!" shouted another familiar voice. Bethylasia turned and saw all her animal friends come to the rescue! Sci Fi ran and jumped onto Malaria's head and bit into her nose, making her roar in pain! Adventure bit her on the leg, and Horror jumped onto the bear's back!

Bethylasia found a nearby thorny stick and picked it up as she cried, "I can't believe you guys are here to help!"  
"Naturally, honey!" said Fantasy as she ran to her aid, "That's what real friends are for!"  
Malaria, meanwhile, put up a major fight with Sci Fi, Adventure, and Horror. First, the bear shook Sci Fi off her face, making the marten land on the ground; but Sci Fi wasn't hurt! Malaria also grabbed Adventure and Horror by her front paws, and threw them into a bush, where they stayed hidden. Bethylasia whacked the bear on the head with her thorny stick, and Malaria roared another big roar; she swiped her front paw at the girl, and sent her down to the ground! Bethylasia wasn't seriously hurt, but Malaria got in front of her, and then tried to attack her again. Suddenly, a familiar green fisher appeared and bit Malaria on her front leg! He then let go of his bite and growled at the bear.  
"Mystery?" Sci Fi wondered as she saw the scene. She then got back on her feet and ran towards Mystery. She growled menacingly at Malaria, and then bit her on the shoulder.  
Bethylasia, meanwhile, got back on her feet and picked up a sharp rock. She tried stabbing the bear in the back with it, but Malaria turned around and attacked her again. "BECCA!" Sci Fi cried as she and Mystery ran to her aid.  
But Malaria snorted and sneered at the girl, "Goodnight, sweet princess! It's time for your demise!" Bethylasia looked closely at Malaria's neck, and saw that she was still wearing her magic necklace. Quickly, she snatched it off the bear's neck, and then whacked it on the ground, creating a large crack in the stone pendant! A light purple beam shot out from Malaria's right shoulder, making her roar in agony. "What are you doing?!" she demanded.  
Bethylasia held up the necklace and said with rage, "This is for Nicole!" She whacked the necklace's pendant on the ground, creating another crack.  
This time, another beam shot out from Malaria's abdomen, making her scream, "You give my necklace back, you little brat!"  
"This is for the Pagemistress and the rest of my family!" Bethylasia shouted as she whacked the pendant again, making yet another crack.  
Another beam shot out of Malaria's right leg as the bear shouted, "You better stop doing this to me, or you'll be very sorry!"  
"And this one is for YOU!" Bethylasia yelled with fury, "Farewell, Malaria! Parting is such sweet sorrow!" She then whacked the necklace's pendant again, this time, making it shatter into a thousand pieces! A powerful beam shot out from the left side of Malaria's chest, making her roar in deep agony.

Suddenly, the spirit of Malaria's necklace appeared, and then he circled around the helpless bear while mocking, "What's the matter, little teddy bear? Are you all out of magic because of not using it wisely? Well, now you will suffer dearly for it, thanks to the girl who has defeated you!" With that, the ghost went inside the bear's mouth, and an explosion of purple and black smoke happened! Bethylasia managed to escape the impact, and shielded all her animal friends while Malaria withered away to a pile of purple dust. The atmosphere went back to a normal nighttime setting, and poor Eddie the raven was so terrified of the princess, that he flew away, never to be seen or heard from again.


	29. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28 - The Curse is Broken!**

After destroying Malaria and her magic, Bethylasia sat on the ground, and all the animals gathered around her in a circle. "Is everyone all right?" the princess asked.  
"Yeah, I think so," said Mystery with a smile.  
"But, sweetheart, your dress!" cried Sci Fi with a shocked look.  
"Yeah, I know," said Bethylasia with a bored tone, "You see…"  
"Oh, never mind the dress," said Fantasy, "What matters is that everyone's okay. And Malaria's curse is broken!"  
Bethylasia remembered something and snapped her fingers. "My family!" she said, "Come on, guys, we need to check on them!" So she carried Sheila in her arms while all the animals followed her to the cellar.

Upon reaching the cellar, the princess led her friends to a secret room where some faint light was glowing behind the door. She opened the door, and saw a pink light glowing around the stone bodies of the royal family members. All the other animals gasped in surprise, too. Suddenly, tiny little pink and blue hailstones sprinkled from the top of the room, covering the stone statues completely! A white beam shot out from an opening, and everyone covered their eyes as more beams came shooting out from the hail-covered statues. The Pagemaster, who had heard some noises from the cellar, came bursting through the doors to witness what was happening. "My child, has Malaria been defeated already?" he asked his granddaughter with surprise. Bethylasia only nodded.

Just then, all the beams and hailstones disappeared, and in place of the statues were some people who were moving about. Bethylasia got a better look as the people began to stand up. One person was a man with brown hair, a beard and mustache, and brown eyes – that was Crown Prince Matthias! Another person was a woman with auburn hair and blue eyes, and she wore glasses like Bethylasia – that was Crown Princess Natalia! "Mama? Papa?" Bethylasia inquired with a surprised look in her eyes.  
Matthias and Natalia looked at their long-lost daughter with big smiles, ran to her, and hugged her real tight! Bethylasia cried tears of happiness as she then noticed more figures moving; two of them were young men, and one was a young woman. The two men revealed themselves to be Alexander and Donovan, Bethylasia's brothers, and the woman was revealed to be Mirabelle, Bethylasia's sister. All the siblings embraced their youngest sister with a tight hug, laughter, and tears of happiness.

Suddenly, some fireworks shot off outside the cellar, and lit up the night sky with many colors! Quickly, the dark sky transformed into a sunny morning, and leafless trees began to grow beautiful green leaves and pink blossoms; some thorny bushes transformed into green bushes with white roses, and then something else happened. A magical stream of sparkles spun around Adventure, transforming him from a beaver back to a pirate book! "Arrrgh!" he said with happiness, "It feels good to be a pirate again!"  
Another stream of sparkles spun around Fantasy, transforming her from a squirrel back into a fairy godmother book! She laughed and felt herself flying as she exclaimed, "Look at that! I'm flying again!"  
More streams of sparkles then spun around Sci Fi and Mystery, making them jump for joy at being books again!  
"What about me? What about me?" Horror asked excitedly as he jumped up and down. Yet another sparkle stream flew around him, and he transformed from a woodchuck to a "hunchbook!" "Hooray!" he shouted as he continued jumping for joy.  
Bethylasia gave a big smile and cried, "Now I remember what you guys looked like before you were animals! This is a big miracle for me!"  
"Not just for you," Matthias added with a smile, "But for all of us!"  
"Of course," added Natalia, "We thought we'd never see you again! Too bad we didn't get to see you transform into a beautiful young lady."  
"Yeah," said Bethylasia with a sad look. She looked at the ground and remembered her life in the real world as Becca. "If you guys don't mind," she told her parents and siblings, "I wish to continue my life living in the real world as Becca Ridges."  
The siblings all gasped, and Matthias and Natalia gave surprised looks. However, the Pagemaster assured everyone with a smile, "Not to worry. Bethylasia and I had this kind of discussion earlier, and I told her that no matter where she chooses to live, we would always have each other. After all, she could dream about us, imagine us, or possibly write a book about us! Whatever she does, we will always be there for her."  
"Very well," said Natalia with a confident tone, "The most important thing we want is for our youngest daughter – our heroine – to be happy at all times." Bethylasia gave one last group hug to her family before the Pagemaster motioned for her and the books to come with him.

In another part of the palace, the Pagemaster opened up his book of secrets, and showed Bethylasia what was going on in the real world. The princess saw a picture of Becca still lying unconscious in the library's restroom. "That's me!" she cried, "And I'm still unconscious! Grandfather, I wish you could take me back to the real world. And not just me – I also want Sheila and all my book friends to come with me!" When they heard the last part, all the books gathered around Bethylasia with big smiles, and the girl knelt down and hugged them all.  
"Well, what do you know?" chuckled Sci Fi, "She's going to check us out, after all!"  
"Of course," replied the girl, "I couldn't stay mad at you guys forever, you know!"  
"We knew you couldn't, mistress!" said Horror with tears of happiness in his eyes.  
Bethylasia then turned to her grandfather and asked him, "Do you know a way we can all go back to the real world?"  
The Pagemaster nodded and said, "Just close your eyes and think of the happiest things that have ever happened in your lives!" As everyone shut their eyes, Bethylasia thought long and hard of happy memories. She thought of her real world family, laughing with Nicole, and her recent adventure in Libralia. Then, the Pagemaster waved his staff in the air for a little bit, and his granddaughter, Sheila, and all the books disappeared into sparkling blue smoke. The smoke travelled up in the air, and then made its way to the page showing Becca in the bathroom.

Back in the real world, Bethylasia and her friends fell from the ceiling, and the princess landed into Becca's subconscious. Becca moved around a bit as she woke up; she also heard five little thuds outside the restroom. She opened her eyes and looked around; Sheila was sitting on the sink counter, and the girl's backpack was lying next to the kitten. Becca then stood up, carefully put Sheila back into her backpack, and then ran out the bathroom door. To her surprise, Becca's class was still listening to Mr. Dewey talk before he broke them up into groups for the field trip project – hardly any time had passed since Becca went unconscious. "Becca, are you okay?" Mrs. Clarke asked her as the girl rejoined her class.  
"Um, yes!" said Becca, "I just slipped on a patch of water, but I'm okay!"  
A meow escaped the girl's backpack, and Mrs. Clarke gave her a suspicious look. "Becca, is there something in your pack that I should know about?"  
Becca took off her backpack and stammered, "Umm, no! W-why do you ask?"  
Mrs. Clarke just looked in the pack and saw Sheila. She was surprised at seeing a kitten in her pupil's backpack, and she cleared her throat and gave Becca a stern look.

Mr. Dewey, who had seen what was going on, walked over to the teacher and girl and said, "Oh! My cat, Natalie, lives in the library with me. She had kittens a few weeks ago, and I'm getting ready to give the little ones a new home. Young lady, if you are a responsible and loving person, you may have this feisty little girl all for your own!"  
Becca beamed with joy and said, "Oh, thank you, Mr. Dewey!"  
Mr. Dewey picked up Sheila and said, "In the meantime, I'll hold onto her while you do your project with some of your peers, okay?"  
Becca nodded and went with Mrs. Clarke back to the center of the library, where all the other students were waiting.


	30. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29: Home Again for Real**

Throughout the rest of the afternoon, Becca had a grand time on her field trip. She did her best to socialize with her peers, and if anyone bullied her, Becca just ignored them. At the end of the day, she remembered her promise to her book friends back in Libralia. Sure enough, as she and her classmates exited the library with some books, Becca had gathered up five familiar-looking books – one of them was a brown adventure book, another one was a lavender fantasy book, a third one was a blue horror book, the fourth one was a yellow science fiction book, and the fifth one was a green mystery book. There was a big line at the check-out desk to see Mr. Dewey, but then a younger employee waved his hand for the next customers. That employee was a young man in his thirties, and he had blonde hair and blue eyes; he also wore a pair of glasses, a red dress shirt, a pair of dark blue jeans, and brown shoes.

It wasn't long before Becca went up to the desk and saw the young man. He greeted her as she handed him her library card. As he checked out the books, a surprised look came to his eyes. "Hey," he said, "I remember checking out three of these books a long time ago when I was a kid!"  
"You did?" asked Becca with interest, "Which ones?"  
"The adventure one, the fantasy one, and the horror one," said the man, "My name's Richard, by the way. And you are?"  
"Beth- er, I mean, Becca Ridges!" said the girl as she pointed to her name on her card.  
"Oh, yeah, I see now!" said Richard as he handed his customer her books. He printed a receipt from the computer, placed into the mystery book, and finished, "Okay, Miss Ridges, these books will be due in three weeks' time. I hope you enjoy your adventures within these stories!"  
Becca smiled and said, "Oh, I will! Thank you!"  
As the girl headed towards the bus, Mr. Dewey stopped her and said, "Miss, I think this little friend belongs to you, too!" He walked over to her with Sheila the kitten in his hands.  
Becca stopped, placed the books down, and then gently placed Sheila into her backpack. "Thank you, Mister," she said, "I had a great time in your library!" Mr. Dewey smiled and winked as he watched Becca take her belongings and catch up with the rest of her classmates.

Sometime later, Becca was walking home with her books in her hands and Sheila sleeping in her backpack. "Okay, Becca," she told herself, "You can do this – you can convince Mom and Dad that you can take care of a kitten. And maybe even the neighbor's dog, too!" When she arrived home, Becca opened the front door and called, "Mom! I'm home!"  
Tasha, who was doing some chores upstairs, came down the staircase and greeted her daughter by saying, "Hello, sweetie! How was the field trip?"  
Becca smiled and said, "It was great! It was basically the adventure of my life!"  
Her mother gave a puzzled look and said, "Gee, I didn't know that learning to be a librarian could be so interesting."  
"Well, it is," replied Becca, "Because you get to explore different genres with books, and travel in different worlds. Who knows? You may even become a different person!" She then showed her mother her books and then took off her backpack. She opened it up and pulled out Sheila. "Mom, the librarian there told me that his cat had kittens a few weeks ago," she explained, "He probably said that they're old enough to be on their own, and I really like this one. I named her Sheila. So may I keep her, PLEASE?"  
Tasha thought for a moment and said, "I don't know. I thought you said you were afraid of animals."  
"But that was before my field trip," pleaded Becca, "Something inside me changed, and now I like animals. In fact, I can even babysit the neighbor's dog sometime if I had to! I swear, Mom, I'll protect and take care of Sheila with all my heart!"  
Becca's mother also couldn't resist Sheila's cuteness, and then she grinned, "All right, darling. She's yours. But please promise me that you will feed her and clean up after her every day!"  
"I promise, Mom," replied Becca as she hugged her mother.  
"In the meantime," continued her mother, "I'll call your father and tell him about your new family member so that he can swing by the store and pick up some cat food and cat litter on the way home!" So Tasha went to telephone Mark while Becca took Sheila and the books upstairs to her room.

Becca spent the rest of the day telling her parents about her day at the library, taking care of Sheila, and her aspirations to become a children's author. "Sounds like my little princess had a busy day!" said Mark with a smile during dinner, "I'm also very glad that you aren't scared of animals anymore. Maybe in a few months, after you get the hang of taking care of Sheila, I might ask the neighbor to see if you can babysit their dog."  
"That would be great, Dad!" said Becca, "But let's hope that the dog isn't like Stephen King's _Cujo_!"  
"Oh, no!" laughed Tasha, "This dog is a friendly Great Dane. He's just as lovable as Scooby-Doo!"  
Becca just grinned. "I'm also going to do better in school – I promise! I'll stop drawing pictures, and I'll focus more on studying variables and poetry!"  
"That's my girl," said Tasha, "I knew you would put your bad memories past, and keep the good ones at all times!"  
Becca made a sad smile. She remembered the day Nicole died, but she also thought of the happy times she spent with her friend; she also thought about feeling lost in the morning, but then she replaced that sad memory with a happier memory from her dream when she broke an evil curse, and was reunited with her imaginary family.


	31. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30 - A Happy Ending**

That night, before she went to bed, Becca looked at her library books. "Horror," she said to the blue book, "You helped me face the forces of evil. Every barrel has its bad apples, and Frankenstein's monster started as a good apple before he went wild at the sight of fire. You should always be aware of strangers." Becca looked at the green book and said, "Mystery, you helped me step up when no one least expected it. I unknowingly helped Sherlock Holmes catch a criminal, and nobody else expected me to do so!" She looked at the yellow book and said, "Sci Fi, you helped me stay strong in times of danger. I rescued that time traveler and the Eloi girl, and later I rescued you from those awful morlocks! Standing up for friends is what loyalty is all about!" Becca looked at the brown book and said, "Adventure, you taught me the importance of standing up for myself. Those pirates wanted to kidnap me and make me a slave, but I gathered up all my strength and confidence, and then scared them away!" Finally, she looked at the lavender book and said, "Fantasy, I want to thank you for helping me face my biggest challenge yet – finding out who I am. Sure, I live a double life, but I didn't know that when I first came to Libralia! But you showed me the magic of imagination and what it means to find your destiny. Without your help, I probably wouldn't have gone to see the Page-, I mean, my imaginary grandfather again!" She then climbed into bed and said to all the books, "Good night, everybody. Tomorrow's Saturday, and I'll have lots of time to read you guys!" With that, she turned off her lamp, took her glasses off and placed them on her bedside, and then drifted off to sleep. Sheila climbed onto Becca's bed and then set herself to sleeping next to her new mistress.

In a dream, Becca looked around, and saw that she was back outside the palace in Libralia. This time, she was wearing the same dress she wore at her debutante ball, only it was all repaired, and she now had a golden brooch pin on the top-left side of her bodice. Something small and furry rubbed against the hem of her skirt, and the girl looked down. It was Sheila, who was happy to see her mistress as Princess Bethylasia! "Sheila!" the princess cried as she lifted the kitten in her hands, "I think we'd better go into the palace!" So the two of them walked in through the main doors, and a pair of royal guards bowed to the princess.

A chamberlain beside the door blew a fanfare on his trumpet, and then announced, "Her Royal Highness, Princess Bethylasia!" Bethylasia looked around and saw a crowd of people clapping and cheering for her. Then she looked straight-on, and saw some familiar faces. The entire royal family was dressed in white and light gray clothing, with red sashes around their waists, and golden crowns with matching brooch pins on the top-left sides of their jackets and dress bodices. The Pagemaster was also watching from atop the grand staircase, with the Pagemistress's spirit right beside him; both of them smiled as they saw their granddaughter make her way towards her family. Bethylasia also saw all her book friends wearing the same outfits they wore when they were humans.  
Mystery happily sighed, "It's good to see a family reunite and be together again."  
"Yes," agreed Sci Fi, "You know, Mystery, I've always wanted to have a second family of my own, too."  
Mystery beamed and asked, "So, Sci Fi, I have been wondering this for a long time – will you marry me?" He reached into his pages and pulled out a diamond ring.  
Sci Fi placed the ring on her finger and exclaimed, "Of course I will! I've always wanted a man besides my father who would care about me and support me at all costs!" She then placed her hands into Mystery's, and the two of them shared a passionate kiss.  
Adventure watched the scene and scoffed with disgust, "Ah, love! Why do we always have to have a mushy-gushy scene at the end of these kinds of stories?"  
"Now, just a minute there, honey!" said Fantasy with a smirk, "Don't you wanna curl up with a good book, too?"  
Adventure stammered, "W-why, that's MY line!" He became more speechless as Fantasy kissed him on the cheek, making him blush bright red.  
Horror playfully laughed at him and said, "It's a happy ending, after all!"

Meanwhile, Bethylasia and Sheila had just finished making their way to the royal family. "Mama! Papa!" the princess said with high enthusiasm, "Alexander! Donovan! Mirabelle! I'm so glad to be with all of you right now!"  
"The same goes for us, too, my child!" said Matthias as he gave his daughter a hug, "Your mother and siblings and I are glad that you have a chance to visit us tonight."  
"Of course," added Natalia, "For we are celebrating our reunion with all our storybook friends! Now let us join in the fun!"  
Bethylasia smiled as she looked up at the top of the stairs. The Pagemaster smiled and winked at her, while the Pagemistress's spirit smiled before disappearing into the sky. Everyone then danced along with some joyful music while Bethylasia felt deep warmth in her heart; she knew that she didn't have to feel lost or afraid anymore, because she had new courage and confidence with the help of the imagination and literature.  
Back in reality, Becca smiled a content smile as she dreamed on.

 **THE END**


End file.
